On the 24th of February 2026, Bloomberg Philanthropies revealed that 24 city halls including KMC from 20 countries will receive $1 million as well as operational support and additional funding for dedicated staff to scale tested innovations to improve essential services.
The winning projects include repairing infrastructure to unlock housing, using AI to connect families to health care, building early warning systems to mitigate weather emergencies, turning waste into school meals, and more
“Winning municipalities will each receive $1 million as well as operational support and additional funding for dedicated staff to bring their ideas to life,” Bloomberg Philanthropies said.
Selected from more than 630 applications, Bloomberg Philanthropies said it considered prototypes developed by 50 cities during the finalist phase, when each pressure-tested core hypotheses with residents.
It said the 24 winning ideas were ultimately chosen for their novelty, potential impact, and strength of implementation plans.
“The most effective city halls are bold, creative, and proactive in solving problems and meeting residents’ needs – and we launched the Mayors Challenge to help more of them succeed,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg L.P., and three-term mayor of New York City. “We look forward to supporting this year’s 24 winners as they bring their innovative projects to life – and to seeing their ideas spread to more cities around the world.”
Bloomberg Philanthropies described KMC as a new youth-led waste collection program that uses small vehicles to reach up to 60% of hard-to-access homes—creating jobs and keeping historically underserved areas clean.
The 2025 – 2026 Mayors Challenge was launched by Mike Bloomberg in October 2024 at Bloomberg CityLab in Mexico City. More than 630 cities applied. In July 2025, 200 municipal chiefs from the 50 finalist cities gathered at Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Ideas Camp in Bogotá to hone their concepts with experts and peers.
Bloomberg said each finalist city received $50,000 and technical guidance to prototype their ideas locally. It said this enabled officials to gain valuable resident feedback, build public support for projects, and fine-tune their proposals based on what worked.
“As part of the ongoing Mayors Challenge program, winners will continue to use these innovation practices to implement their Bloomberg Philanthropies-supported interventions,” Bloomberg said.
Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC’s) Reaction
Reacting to the news, the Mayor of KMC Talib Ahmed Bensouda welcomed the news and said his council is incredibly proud to be selected among the 24 city governments out of 630 applications.
“Our city will receive $1 million, expert guidance, and additional funding for dedicated staff to bring our plan to tackle youth unemployment and waste management to life — reimagining the most fundamental services residents rely on and delivering results,” Mayor Bensouda said.
Mayor Bensouds said with the capital and the capacity the program provides, KMC will form youth cooperatives to operate tricycle waste collection, reach the 60% of households trucks cannot access, and turn waste management into dignified jobs, while equipping youth with skills and pathways to upward mobility, and delivering cleaner neighborhoods, and stronger communities.
