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The city government is one of the winners of the Bloomberg Philanthropies' 2025-2026 Mayors' Challenge award.
Published on 27/02/2026 - 17:49 | Updated on 27/02/2026 - 18:09
São Sebastião Administrative Center (Cass), headquarters of the City Hall - Rafael Catarcione/City Hall of Rio The city of Rio de Janeiro is one of 24 winners of the Bloomberg Philanthropies 2025-2026 Mayors Challenge — a global competition that recognizes municipalities with the best innovative ideas to strengthen essential services. Rio was awarded for its proposal to use technology to combat extreme poverty through a digital “active outreach” approach.
The project, created by IplanRio, a public technology company linked to the Civil House (CVL), proposes the use of Community Health Agents to map families in vulnerable situations, integrating this information into the municipal Data Lake and a generative AI (LLMs) capable of proactively connecting the most vulnerable citizens to essential public services.
By cross-referencing health and social assistance data, it is possible to identify and connect citizens with specific needs to the appropriate public services, ensuring that assistance reaches those who need it most more quickly and automatically, improving municipal management.
The city will receive US$1 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies, in addition to specialized guidance and resources to form a team dedicated to expanding the initiative. Furthermore, the Rio de Janeiro City Hall will gain global consulting services to refine the project's algorithms and methodology, in conjunction with international experts. The goal is, through the responsible use of technology, to advance towards a more proactive governance model, capable of anticipating needs and better serving those in need.
– The city of Rio is very pleased to receive the Mayors' Challenge award, securing the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies. With this support, it will be possible to implement an innovative project that combines artificial intelligence with human care to bring city services to those who need them most, identifying needs and facilitating access to essential services. This recognition shows that Rio is on the right track. Today, we are an international benchmark in innovation and technology at the service of the people. Our proposal stems from a keen eye on the needs of the most vulnerable population, with the goal of using technology to leave no one behind, investing in a proactive government – said the mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes.
With the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the project can be implemented on a large scale, combining artificial intelligence with the technical expertise of municipal professionals. The proposal is that services such as vaccination and public education will no longer depend exclusively on the initiative of families in the face of bureaucracy, but will reach them in a more agile and efficient way.
– Rio won because it understood that technology only makes sense when it serves people. The recognition from Bloomberg Philanthropies endorses Rio as a world reference in GovTech. With this award, IplanRio is helping the city take a giant step towards eradicating social invisibility. We will use innovation to anticipate needs and ensure that no one in Rio is left behind in the digital age – said the president of IplanRio, João Carabetta.
The 24 winners were: As-Salt (Jordan); Barcelona (Spain); Beira (Mozambique); Belfast (United Kingdom); Benin City (Nigeria); Boise (United States); Budapest (Hungary); Cape Town (South Africa); Cartagena (Colombia); Fez (Morocco); Fukuoka (Japan); Ghaziabad (India); Ghent (Belgium); Kanifing (Gambia); Lafayette (United States); Medellín (Colombia); Netanya (Israel); Pasig (Philippines); Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); South Bend (United States); Surabaya (Indonesia); Toronto (Canada); Turku (Finland); Visakhapatnam (India).
According to the organization, together, the approaches of the winning cities form a 21st-century governance model that is emerging within city halls: actions focused on problems that other actors—state, national, or private—have left unresolved; systems created to identify risks early and act before crises occur; teams structured to work in an integrated way across agencies and sectors, seeking concrete results; public policies developed in partnership with residents; municipal public procurement aimed at shaping markets—from local food supply to cleaner building materials—for the benefit of the public interest; and the use of digital technology and artificial intelligence combined with professional judgment to improve the daily experience and outcomes.
To learn more about the 24 winning cities, visit: mayorschallenge.bloomberg.org.
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