MINI Impact Program.

MINI has built URBAN-X to support entrepreneurs in their journey to reimagine cities. The first Mini revolutionized personal mobility by minimizing the use of resources and space. The values that shaped the iconic vehicle as an inventive, sustainable, and human-centric solution drive our mission at URBAN-X to tackle some of today’s toughest urban challenges beyond transportation.

Starting with Singapore, Indonesia, France, and Italy in Fall 2022, our new Impact Program will support entrepreneurs with ideas that improve cities. We will select the most promising teams and winners will participate in a 4-week program that culminates in one week at URBAN-X in New York City.

Life in a city can be challenging. But what if you could keep what we love and change what we hate?

Participating countries.

France

Italy

Singapore

Indonesia

Who this is for.

Entrepreneurs with ideas to improve city life.

Timeline.

Remote Phase: Nov 14 – Dec 4 (3 weeks)

On-Site in NYC: Dec 5 – 9 (1 week)

 

What you get.

The program includes 3 weeks remote support and 1 sponsored on-site week in NYC. You will get the direct support of our team of experts highly experienced in early-stage ventures. We will connect you with leading industry mentors who deeply understand how to work with and in cities, expose you to a community of fellow entrepreneurs who have built successful venture businesses and give you global exposure via our public relations partners and MINI channels.

UNDERSTANDING THE US MARKET.

The URBAN-X team has decades of hands-on experience working within cities. We will help you better understand your customer, their pain points and how to position your solution for them.

BUILDING DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIPS.

Working closely with our Experts, we will help you identify the most relevant beachhead markets and build a business development  roadmap to enter the US market.

PITCHING TO US INVESTORS.

The ability to sell your idea to investors, customers and collaborators is critical to success. We will help you create the most compelling pitch deck to tell your story to US VCs.

What you Bring.

Here are some of the questions we look for founders to answer:

  • How can data and software help to create more affordable and just cities?
  • How can technology help reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
  • How can design be used to make cities more resilient in the face of climate change?
  • How to increase efficiency of space in the mobility context?
  • What can sustainable mobility solutions for cities look like?


JOIN US.

If you are working on an idea along those lines, and believe that it could scale beyond where you are now, we would love to hear from you.


APPLY NOW

Frequently asked questions



Yes, we are planning to run this program twice a year and add more countries to participate.

At this point, we are running this program only in the countries above, but we are planning to expand in the near future. Please subscribe to our Newsletter to be notified when we do.

No, the program requires on-site participation from December 5th to 9th, 2022.

We will cover all travel and lodging expenses related to the program. We will also provide desks for you at our NYC office, as well as access to prototyping equipment and some supplies if you’re working on hardware products. The rest will be for you to cover.

We won’t unfortunately, but there are lots of entrepreneurship programs out there. Good luck with finding your match!

You don’t need to be incorporated but you need to have a strong understanding of the problem you’re focusing on and have some sense of how to solve it.

Yes! If your research has the potential to be impactful, we’ll teach you the real-world expertise needed to build a product and business.