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Rio is a global finalist in the 2025 Mayors Challenge with a project aimed at tackling extreme poverty
Published on 25/06/2025 - 12:27 | Updated
The headquarters of Rio City Hall - Fabio Motta/City Hall of Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes announced on Wednesday (25/6) that Rio de Janeiro was selected as one of the 50 finalist cities in the sixth Mayors Challenge, from Bloomberg Philanthropies, a competition that encourages innovation in local governments to improve the lives of the population in cities around the world. This edition highlights municipalities that proposed bold ideas to strengthen essential public services. The 50 finalists were selected from more than 630 entries and represent 33 countries and more than 80 million inhabitants.
As a finalist, the City of Rio will receive US$50 to develop a prototype of its idea, which involves tackling extreme poverty through the integration of data and digital technologies. The project, created by IplanRio, a public technology company, proposes the use of Community Health Agents to map families in vulnerable situations, integrating this information with the municipal DataLake and a generative AI (LLMS) capable of proactively connecting the most vulnerable citizens to essential public services.
City representatives will also participate in the Bloomberg Philanthropies Ideas Camp in July to refine and test their proposals with the help of experts and managers from other cities. In January 2026, the 25 cities with the most promising ideas will receive $1 million each, as well as technical support to implement their solutions.
– We are very proud to hear that Rio was selected as a finalist for the Mayors Challenge 2025, among more than 600 cities around the world. This recognition shows that Rio is on the right track. Today, we are an international reference in innovation and technology at the service of people. Our proposal is born from a close look at the needs of the most vulnerable population. We will use the strength of our Community Health Agents to identify and support families at risk and connect this data to CadÚnico. We are combining artificial intelligence with human care to bring City Hall services to those who need them most. We are already expanding access to health, education and transportation. And now, with this simple, efficient and accessible solution, through technology, we will directly reach those who are often invisible. This way, we will ensure that no one is left behind – said Mayor Eduardo Paes.
The 630 proposals received by the Mayors Challenge reflect some of the biggest challenges facing public services today—and also reveal the creativity that drives local governments around the world. For example, a third of the projects from North America proposed solutions for housing and housing; almost half of the proposals from Africa addressed improvements in solid waste collection and management; and around 22 percent of European cities sought ways to reduce poverty or promote social inclusion.
The 50 finalist ideas were selected based on three criteria: originality, potential impact and feasibility of execution.
– Local government is where politics meets people — and where governance transforms lives and builds trust. That’s why municipal innovation isn’t about grand gestures — it’s about solving complex problems with few resources and under pressure. The Mayors’ Challenge finalists stand out for going beyond creativity: their projects consider the complexity of implementation and the urgency of residents’ needs. These are ambitious but realistic ideas, well-structured and with high potential for impact – said James Anderson, director of the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The 50 finalist cities are: Abha (Saudi Arabia), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Ansan (South Korea), As-Salt (Jordan), Barcelona (Spain), Beaverton (USA), Beira (Mozambique), Belfast (UK), Benin City (Nigeria), Boise (USA), Boston (USA), Budapest (Hungary), Cap-Haïtien (Haiti), Cape Town (South Africa), Cartagena (Colombia), Cauayan (Philippines), Choma (Zambia), Cuenca (Ecuador), Detroit (USA), Fez (Morocco), Fukuoka (Japan), Ghaziabad (India), Ghent (Belgium), Greater Visakhapatnam (India), Helsinki (Finland), Honolulu (USA), Kanifing (Gambia), Kiev (Ukraine), Lafayette (USA), Lower Hutt (New Zealand), Maceió (Brazil), Marseille (France), Medellin (Colombia), Mexico City (Mexico), Naga (Philippines), Ndola (Zambia), Netanya (Israel), Nouakchott (Mauritania), Pasig (Philippines), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), San Francisco (USA), Seattle (USA), Seoul (South Korea), Sialkot (Pakistan), Surabaya (Indonesia), South Bend (USA), Taipei (Taiwan), Toronto (Canada), Turku (Finland) and Yonkers (USA).
This edition of the Mayor Challenge will provide more funding and support to more cities than in previous editions, which awarded five to 5 winners with technical support and $15 million. The competition builds on Bloomberg Philanthropies’ more than 1 years of supporting public innovation in cities. Over the course of five previous rounds, 10 winning cities have received funding and technical assistance to put their ideas into practice. The replication of these ideas has expanded the program’s impact to more than 38 cities around the world, reaching more than 337 million people.
The president of IplanRio, João Carabetta, highlighted that the recognition from Bloomberg Philanthropies adds to that from Google Cloud and reaffirms that Rio de Janeiro is, in fact, an international reference in innovation and technology at the service of people.
– We are incredibly proud that the city is a global finalist in the Mayors Challenge 2025. The project reflects the effort and dedication of the talented IplanRio team who created a project that combines technology with human care to bring essential services to those who need them most. We want to ensure that no one is left behind, making the invisible visible and proactively connecting them to public services – said João Carabetta.
With the expansion of the Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange, winning ideas from this and future editions of the Mayors’ Challenge will have even greater potential to scale — serving as models for local governments around the world.
To learn more about the 50 finalist proposals, visit Mayors Challenge website.
About Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to help ensure better, longer lives for as many people as possible. The organization focuses on five key areas: the arts, education, the environment, government innovation, and public health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s philanthropic endeavors—including foundations, corporate and personal giving, and Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises governments around the world. In 2024, the organization awarded $3,7 billion in grants. For more information, visit Bloomberg Philanthropies. Bloomberg Philanthropies website.
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