HumanForest secures £2.3m funding boost for e-bike advertising plans

Micro-mobility start-up HumanForest has this week announced the close of a £2.3m funding round, providing the e-bike service provider with a major boost ahead of its launch in London next month.

The company, which was founded by former-Cabify lead Agustin Guilisasti and is backed by Cabify founders Juan de Antonio and Vicente Pascual, aims to pioneer an advertising-led revenue model for its network of e-bikes.

Customers making use of the bikes will receive an advert from partners before and after using a HumanForest e-bike, allowing cyclists to ride for free for 10 minutes each day before charges of 15p per minute take effect.

The company said it would facilitate up to 7,000 rides and avoid almost four tonnes of CO2 from being emitted into London's air every day.

A successful trial last year found that the company grew its number of users by 48 per cent each week, avoiding 10 tonnes of CO2 in the process. 

Following the new funding injection, the company said it was now valued at £32m, up from £10.2m at the seed stage.

It is now expected to announce a number of partnerships with high profile brands that align with its sustainable values over the coming weeks ahead of the launch, building on partnerships during last trial that included the likes of the Financial Times and Whole Foods Market.  

"Securing this latest round of funding is another exciting milestone for us," said Guilisasti. "We look forward to returning the show of faith from our investors with a successful launch and rapid customer acquisition. We are expecting to reach positive EBITDA after three months of truly green operations. 

"Global shared transport, including micro-mobility, will outgrow ride hailing by 2030 and the sector is expected to grow from $7.8bn to $480bn.That is not surprising considering that over the past year, there has been an uptake in cycling as people seek sustainable and healthy transport options.London has a low ratio of shared vehicles compared to other global cities and with the capital opening up again, this is the perfect time for us to launch our e-bikes."

The news comes just days after HumanForest announced it had inked a partnership with digital wealth manager Nutmeg.

Under the terms of the partnership, Nutmeg will showcase its socially responsible investing portfolios through HumanForest's advertising platform, while the company will also give the first 1,000 Nutmeg customers who use a HumanForest bike extra free minutes.