Malmö Residency 2026
What happens when six people from different parts of the world are given time, space and access to an entire city’s innovation ecosystem? Throughout September, Malmö Residency 2026 is bringing new perspectives into Malmö, creating new connections across sectors, disciplines and borders.
This year’s residents have arrived in Malmö. Selected from thousands of applicants, the six participants come from Iceland, Japan, India, Germany, Turkey and Poland, bringing experience from circularity, technology, mobility, entrepreneurship, culture, financial inclusion and urban development.
Together, they reflect the range of ideas and expertise that Malmö Residency is designed to bring into the city:
Anna De Matos, founder and CEO of Circular Library Network, from Iceland
Daisuke Tanaka, working with community and ecosystem building at Woven by Toyota, from Japan
Neha Mehta, founder, writer and professor at FemTech Partners, from India
Max Lübke, curator, queer educator, art mediator and writer, from Germany
Ayşe Nur Koç, economics and media and visual arts student at Koç University, from Turkey
Michal Kasperski, designer, impact entrepreneur and co-founder of PublicTwin, from Poland
A residency shaped by the city
Malmö Residency is not centred around one office, organisation or predefined assignment. Instead, the city becomes the residency.
During their stay, the residents gain access to workplaces, communities, testbeds, events and expertise across Malmö. They are introduced to people who can challenge their thinking, contribute knowledge and open doors to new collaborations. At the same time, Malmö’s organisations and communities gain access to the residents’ international experience, questions and perspectives.
This exchange is at the heart of the programme. The aim is not only to show what Malmö already does well, but to create space for new ideas to take shape through conversations, unexpected meetings and hands-on collaboration.
The 2026 programme connects to several areas that are especially relevant to Malmö’s future: the green transition, AI and emerging technologies, food innovation, cultural and creative industries, and wise and digital cities. These themes cut across sectors and require different kinds of knowledge to meet. By bringing together people who would not usually work in the same room, the residency can help uncover new perspectives on shared challenges.
New perspectives strengthen the ecosystem
For Malmö Generate District, Malmö Residency represents what a connected innovation ecosystem can make possible.
Innovation rarely happens in isolation. It grows when people can access the right environments, find relevant expertise and test ideas together.
Malmö Residency creates those conditions on a city-wide scale. More than 60 companies and organisations contribute to the programme, offering their time, knowledge, networks and spaces.
The result is a residency built through collective effort—and one that benefits both the visitors and the local ecosystem. The residents are given the opportunity to develop their own work in a new context, while local actors gain fresh perspectives on their industries, organisations and city.
It also offers Malmö an opportunity to learn.
What becomes visible when someone experiences the ecosystem for the first time? Which connections are easy to make, and which are still missing? What can international perspectives teach us about how Malmö develops, collaborates and communicates its strengths?
Follow the residency
Throughout their time in Malmö, the residents will take part in meetings, events and activities across the city. They will also share their own knowledge and explore questions connected to their work—from inclusive cultural spaces and financial technology to community building and more democratic urban development.
We look forward to following their journeys, learning from their perspectives and seeing which ideas and connections continue beyond the residency itself.
Welcome to Malmö, Anna, Daisuke, Neha, Max, Ayşe Nur and Michal.
Malmö Residency 2026 is funded by the City of Malmö, Malmö University and Malmö Generate District. It is organised in collaboration with more than 60 Malmö-based companies and organisations, the City of Malmö, the Swedish Institute and Media Evolution.