About Us
We help startups think like investors, and organizations think like startups. Our working style is personal, present, and collaborative. Our extended team of urban tech experts allows us to bring unique insights into projects and fast-track implementation.
Experts in cities, climate, scaling, storytelling, and implementation.
Our story
Our future.
Urban Impact started as a founder-driven project, driven by a clear vision: to bridge the gap between public sector demands and the innovation economy.
Over time, our mission evolved, scaling beyond individual collaborations into a broader city-led platform.
Today, we serve as strategic connectors and systems builders, empowering a vast ecosystem of cities, startups, and investors to transform urban challenges into sustainable opportunities across Europe.
Urban Impact Fund
Looking ahead, we're establishing the Urban Impact Fund, a dedicated financial vehicle designed to accelerate transformative urban solutions. By strategically aligning capital with impactful innovations, this fund aims to catalyze systemic change, ensuring promising ventures receive the targeted support they need for sustainable growth.
Europe's Pivotal Role
Europe sits uniquely positioned to lead global urban innovation. Leveraging our expansive network of over 1,000 European cities and deep local insights, Urban Impact is committed to unlocking Europe's immense potential—turning the continent into a global model for collaborative, inclusive, and future-ready cities.
The Team
The team is made up of globally-minded professionals with deep experience in urban innovation, sustainability, and strategic design. With diverse backgrounds and a shared commitment to impact-driven work, we collaborate closely to support cities, organizations, and communities in shaping a more sustainable future.
Jonas Schorr
CEO & Founder
Prior to founding Urban Impact, Jonas spent ten years working on a variety of international projects in the field of sustainable city-making across Europe and Asia.
As a CEO, Jonas oversees all client relationships, focuses on the agency’s strategic outreach and ecosystem activities, and engages in our investment activities.
Charmi Trivedi
Startup Analyst
Charmi has a background in architecture and sustainable development, with a strong focus on integrating technology to drive scalable impact.
Charmi leverages automation and large language models (LLMs) to identify high-potential early-stage ventures and analyze emerging trends with speed and precision. Her work is grounded in corporate sustainability reporting, policy analysis, and circular economy strategies.
Sophie Persigehl
Head of Projects and Operations
With a background in city planning and a master's in Urban Future, Sophie is passionate about cross-sectoral innovation and shaping the cities of tomorrow.
As Head of Project and Operations, she leads and coordinates client projects, ensuring seamless execution and impact. She also plays a key role in building and nurturing strategic partnerships and driving collaboration.
Jan Bunge
Strategic Projects
Jan is a seasoned creative leader dedicated to driving sustainable and regenerative design at scale. With a background in architecture and urban design, he brings over two decades of experience leading international projects across design, innovation, and strategy.
As former Director at Squint/Opera, he specialized in building cross-sector partnerships and translating visionary ideas into impactful solutions. Jan is passionate about fostering collaboration across disciplines to create a thriving future for people and the planet.
Melika Modiri
Digital Marketing Specialist
Melika is a digital marketing and UX professional specializing in web design, content management systems, and email marketing.
With experience across industries and international markets, she brings a user-centered, strategic approach to creating impactful digital experiences. Passionate about growth and innovation, Melika thrives in collaborative environments and is always exploring new opportunities to elevate brand engagement and performance.
Leonie Zinn
Project Assistant
Leonie is a Bachelor's student at HWR Berlin for International Sustainability Management.
At Urban Impact, she supports the team with her organizational skills and attention to detail, ensuring efficient project workflows.
Robyn Bennett
Strategic Projects
Robyn is a strategist, facilitator, and programme designer who champions good public governance and the power of transformative experiences to build trust and drive change. She specializes in strengthening public institutions through reimagined design and fostering cross-sector relationships.
At Urban Impact, she designs and delivers global strategic projects, particularly those involving public sector actors.
The Advisory Board
The advisory board brings together experienced professionals who provide strategic guidance, diverse perspectives, and support in shaping the vision and direction of our work.
Dominik Zalewski
Strategic Advisor
Dominik is an urban economist and former VC CFO with extensive experience in local and regional economic planning and financing of early-stage start-ups.
As an advisor, he pairs the experience of supercharged growth of technologies with the logic of patient development to drive transformative projects and invest in the right startups.
Friedrich A. Neuman
Investment Advisor
Friedrich is an entrepreneur and early-stage impact investor with 15 years of company-building experience. He co-founded 4 startups and invested in 20 companies, including multiple exits.
Today he spearheads investment activities and supports startups as a strategic advisor and Partner at the agency.
Our high-level, world-class network of city experts,
collaborates with us on projects, bringing unique ecosystem insights and reach. With close ties to academia, city networks, politics, and investors, we validate ideas from the start and facilitate groundbreaking alliances.
Learn more about our Expert Collective
