CitizenLab has been awarded the “Best Social Impact Startup in Europe” prize at TechCrunch’s Disrupt Conference in Berlin, on December 11-12, 2019. The DT50 prize recognizes Europe’s top entrepreneurial talent. Over 600 startups from all over Europe applied to award, and 8 start-ups were shortlisted in the “Social Impact” category by a jury made of experts from Google, McKinsey, Rocket Internet and FreshFields. CitizenLab, a Brussels based start-up providing governments with platforms to consult their citizens, was nominated for its contribution to e-democracy in Europe. 

In addition to a prize of €25,000, CitizenLab has won consulting sessions with experts from Google, McKinsey, FreshFields and Rocket Internet. Wietse van Ransbeeck, co-founder and CEO of CitizenLab, is immensely proud of this recognition: “We’d like to thank TechCrunch and DT50 for this fantastic opportunity. We are very proud of this award, which demonstrates Gov Tech’s huge potential to renew our democracies. We will use the prize and consulting sessions to further expand our international partner program and enter new markets such as the UK. Our ultimate mission is to become biggest e-democracy platform globally, empowering 2,5 million citizens to have their voice heard through CitizenLab in three years from now.” 

CitizenLab provides local governments with an online toolbox to easily consult citizens. Since 2015, CitizenLab has worked with over 125 governments across 10 different countries to improve digital democracy. The platform is currently being used by governments in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, the UK, Chile or Denmark. In May 2019, the start-up raised 2.1 million euros to further develop its e-democracy platform across Europe. The team, 20 people and growing, is based in Brussels. 

If you would like more information about this achievement or CitizenLab, please contact Coline Cuau at 0032 471 86 12 01 or coline@citizenlab.co.