A true everyday helper:
As part of her "NRW Innovation Tour 2026," NRW Minister of Economic Affairs Mona Neubaur also visited SWCode. The software company from Soest develops, among other things, modern city apps that efficiently connect municipalities and citizens in their daily lives.
Whether Cologne or Bielefeld, Aachen or Soest – several million people live in cities in North Rhine-Westphalia. However, urban spaces are becoming increasingly complex, fast-paced, and densely populated. From diverse mobility and shopping options to government agencies and their services, from doctors' offices and delivery services to cultural offerings; from neighborhoods and clubs to special groups and initiatives, and from events to everyday assistance – it's not always easy to stay informed about the extensive range of services, participate accordingly, and keep up-to-date with all relevant information. Dennis Wiosna and Viktor Gottfried set out to change that. In 2020, they founded the software company SWCode in Wiosna's hometown of Soest. Initially, they implemented ideas for tourism, gastronomy, and the healthcare sector, but the focus increasingly shifted to smart city apps. Their first client: the city of Soest.
“We want to offer people a real everyday helper.”
“City apps have been around for a while, we were well aware of that,” explains founder Dennis Wiosna, “but we realized that most only offer a fraction of what’s possible.” The “SoestApp” demonstrates just how much more is possible – SWCode’s first project of this kind, developed in collaboration with the city of Soest. Even the approach is innovative: “We started by conducting a survey of residents to find out what people really need and what a city app should look like,” Wiosna explains. It quickly became clear that it’s about more than just museum opening hours or which shops are located. “We want to offer people a real everyday helper,” the entrepreneur emphasizes. Take waste disposal, for example: The app shows the locations of glass recycling containers and provides information about garbage collection dates. Users can also opt to receive notifications about these dates. The app also includes all of the city hall’s online services – from lost and found to animal welfare, from building permits to traffic information. “Especially useful during hot weather,” Wiosna points out: “The app shows the locations of drinking fountains.” It provides information about construction sites and their completion dates. It offers news from numerous stakeholders. There's also a tool for reporting ideas and defects. And much more. SWCode didn't have to reinvent the wheel. "There's plenty of information in the city, but our strength lies in intelligently bundling it and making it efficiently visible and usable," says Wiosna. What's important to him and his team is that the app is customizable. SWCode uses exclusively open-source software. "And the software is modular and scalable," the entrepreneur adds. Wesel, Bamberg, and Kassel also rely on SWCode's expertise, and more cities are likely to follow.
“Developed in South Westphalia” is SWCode’s slogan. It’s printed on the employees’ T-shirts and hoodies. “Our region is characterized by its down-to-earth nature and authenticity,” says Wiosna, “as well as short distances, exciting hidden champions, and fantastic startups.” Since its founding, the company has cultivated a close-knit network based on trust and cooperation. “That’s very important to us.” This network includes not only numerous companies but also Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences and South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences. “Both offer excellent technical degree programs,” says Wiosna, “which is very interesting for us.” Their importance for recruitment is evident in the approximately twelve-person team, as several employees studied at one of the two universities. SWCode also collaborates on research projects. In the “ARiadne” project, the company is developing an innovative navigation application using augmented reality in partnership with Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences. With personalized route guidance and special instructions, the app is intended to significantly simplify orientation for pedestrians in urban areas in the future.
This success story of an innovative transformation was published in June 2026. No updates or reviews of the information have taken place since then.
The publication series “Transformation through Innovation” aims to illustrate how companies in North Rhine-Westphalia have been able to write successful innovation stories thanks to the framework conditions created by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
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