Mayors for Economic Growth
The Mayors for Economic Growth (M4EG), a joint initiative of the EU and UNDP, invites local actors to reimagine urban and local spaces for transformative change and future-readiness.
Start changing municipalities today
The Mayors for Economic Growth (M4EG), a joint initiative of the EU and UNDP, invites local actors to reimagine urban and local spaces for transformative change and future-readiness. The EU-funded M4EG initiative was launched in 2017 for local authorities in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region.
In its current third phase (2025-2028), M4EG focuses on supporting inclusive, green, and innovative economic revival in secondary cities across the EaP. This includes advancing systemic local economic planning, expanding access to finance, strengthening future-ready capabilities, and deepening local, regional, and global networks.
At a glance
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470+
local authorities across five countries in the M4EG network
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80
local authorities delivering measurable change through grant-funded programmes
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1,650+
municipal staff members trained in local economic development redesign
How we work
In the current phase, M4EG supports cities through four connected streams of work.
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The programme helps up to 20 secondary cities in the M4EG network to design and implement missions that tackle challenges related to the green transition, resilience, digital transformation, and the cultural economy.
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The grants enable cities to test new financing models, from revenue generation and SME infrastructure to gender-responsive budgeting and fintech.
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The advisory function is built into our grant mechanism to strengthen project pipelines and make local authorities more investment-ready.
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The Urban Learning Center an online repository of courses, guides, case studies, research, and toolkits, open to all M4EG members to support their local economic development initiatives.
What’s the Mission-Oriented Economy Programme?
The M4EG’s Mission-Oriented Economy Programme is a regional programme that applies a mission-oriented economy approach to support cities in the EaP region to align with their country-specific Mission Themes and develop locally relevant City Missions. The programme supports selected cities in designing and implementing interconnected interventions through cross-sector portfolios fostering innovation, collaboration, and investment readiness to drive sustainable local economic growth.
Why missions?
Missions provide a direction for local economies to achieve cross-sectoral, economy-wide goals. They aim to reshape government from within and strengthen public systems, while steering the economy a new direction.
Meet the 2025 cohort
The selected Mission-Oriented Economy Programme cities are listed below. Mission themes for Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine have been selected by combining input from network municipalities – through surveys and consultations – and national and EU’s priorities. These themes provide a shared framing that reflects each country’s context. All three countries identified economic resilience as their primary mission theme.
From single projects to citywide portfolios
The 2025 M4EG Annual Progress Report shows how cities across the Eastern Partnership are shifting to portfolio approaches.
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Donors
The Mayors for Economic Growth (M4EG) Facility, a joint initiative of the EU and UNDP, invites local actors to reimagine urban and local spaces for transformative change and future-readiness. The EU-funded M4EG initiative was launched in 2017 for local authorities in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region.
Get in touch
Drop us an email at innovation@undp.org