Knowledge Fairtree Elevant Ventures Invests in Electric Cargo Bike Company Cargoroo 27 September 2021 Blogs by experts Fairtree Elevant Ventures, a European growth equity fund based in the Netherlands, has announced its investment into Cargoroo, the Dutch electric cargo bike ride-sharing company. Cargoroo operates a fleet of electric cargo bikes in cities, available for any member of the public to book via the Cargoroo app, on a per-minute basis. The bikes are perfect for young families transporting their kids to school, picking up weekly groceries, taking picnics to the beach, small businesses delivering goods, or anyone needing to transport anything quickly, easily and without the hassle and expense of a car. Co-founded by Jelle Maijer, Jaron Borensztajn and Erik de Winter in 2018, Cargoroo is based in Amsterdam. Jelle Maijer comments, “Our concept is aimed at families and entrepreneurs who don’t want to or cannot afford to buy a cargo bike themselves. In this way, car use is further discouraged, the neighbourhood becomes more liveable, and everyone has access to a new convenience with an electric cargo bike at a fixed location.” Fitted with an electric motor, the bikes are quick, powerful, easy to use, emissions-free, and a joy to ride. Cargoroo has its fleet in five cities currently in the Netherlands and Belgium, and is expanding to Germany and the UK by the end of 2021. With the support and funding provided by Elevant Ventures, they plan to accelerate this roll-out into Europe, as well as expand into the US in due course. David Evans, Managing Director of Elevant Ventures, says that he and his family have been enthusiastic supporters of Cargoroo since their launch in The Hague. “As cities world-wide move to an emissions-free future in transport, we see Cargoroo delivering an important and excellent quality service, which makes people’s lives easier and better using technology with a sustainable impact. This is why we are truly excited to support Cargoroo on this next growth phase of the business as they roll out their network across Europe.” De Winter says that more and more cities are enthusiastic about their unique approach to transport and are making room in their policy agenda to make this possible. “We are approached daily by cities and towns in the Netherlands and abroad who would like to see Cargoroo launched in their neighbourhoods. We look forward to further capitalising on this momentum and broadening our contribution to creating more liveable and greener cities,” he concludes.