Locations
Mayors for Economic Growth Facility (M4EG)
Project summary:
The M4EG initiative supports local authorities in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) to become active shapers of their inclusive economic growth and vibrant communities. This is done through strengthening the capacities of local governments and creating inclusive innovation processes for the design of investment projects suited to a new generation of local economic development plans, called Pathways for Economic Growth (P4EG), and investing in portfolios of projects in a way that brings tangible benefits to citizens. The M4EG intends to demonstrate what new trajectories of growth could look like in the EaP, and how additional financing can be mobilised at the local government level.
Project goals:
The overall objectives of the M4EG are:
- Facilitate an active network of local authorities in the five implementing countries of the EaP to learn, test, connect, and mobilise new partnerships and funding opportunities;
- Introduce new tools and approaches to help address the complex challenges (incl. inequalities, energy transition, conflict and refugee & IDP response) faced by local authorities, and test these through a learning and iterative journey of implementing seed funds at the local level.
Expected results:
- 433 local authorities recommitted to the M4EG, with almost 30 new members in 2023;
- 46 cities/towns engaging in designing and implementing demonstration projects for new trajectories of growth, and making secondary cities in the EaP more attractive for people and financing through the Portfolio Journey and Urban Imaginaries Programmes – as well as through the EU Responses and Renewal Programme , which helps local authorities recover and revitalise local economies;
- Setting up the Urban Learning Center to act as a learning opportunity system for municipality staff and their partners designing the new generation of local economic development plans, called Pathways for Economic Growth, Smarter & Inclusive Cities, Community Listening in Practice, and Foundations for Future Readiness;
- In total in 2023, M4EG supported 39 local authorities within the Ukraine Crisis Response component, assisting 60,484 beneficiaries – including 13,852 internally displaced persons.