Amsterdam-based BAQME, a mobility startup, announced on Wednesday that it has launched a crowdfunding campaign to further accelerate growth in its existing cities and expand into new markets, including Amsterdam.
BAQME has decided to collaborate with Crowdcube to give as many individuals as possible the opportunity to invest in BAQME.
As an investment crowdfunding platform, Crowdcube enables entrepreneurs to raise funds with the added benefit of being backed by their community. For investors, the platform provides a way to hand-pick a stake in an innovative business that traditionally would have been restricted to professional investors.
Brief about BAQME
BAQME was founded during the Covid-19 pandemic in August, 2020, by Souren Arakelian and Sven Velthuis. Berenice van Gessel later joined as a co-founder and investor. Van Gessel used to work at Uber and was responsible for JUMP operations in EMEA and Uber Operations in the Benelux region.
BAQME is a sharing platform for electric cargo bikes. Through its app, users can find and use an electric shared cargo bike at any time. The company started in Rotterdam and expanded to The Hague and Ghent, and will shortly include Eindhoven.
Since its start in 2021, the company claims to have facilitated more than 60,000 journeys with just under 30,000 app downloads and currently has 350 moving electric cargo bikes in the Netherlands and Belgium.
In order to give individuals the same independence as having their own e-cargo bike, BAQME has started offering monthly subscriptions. In the near future, these subscriptions will be widely made available in new locations, including Amsterdam.
Making independent of a car for short journeys
BAQME claims that its goal is to make people independent of a car for short journeys. According to the company, more than half of all car journeys are less than 7.5 kilometres.
The e-cargo bikes can be used to transport groceries, luggage, or personal belongings, and they also have two seat belts for two little children. They are also widely used by students or young professionals in place of scooters. Additionally, businesses are willing to adopt the e-cargo bike as a service offered by BAQME.
Fund utilisation
Souren Arakelian, founder of BAQME, mentions in a statement that the raised capital will accelerate the company’s growth and make its e-cargo bikes available to more people.
BAQME wants to place more bicycles in its currently operated cities, as well as open new service areas to give people a chance to use e-cargo bikes. The company will also use the funds to expand to other European cities.
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