micromobilitybiz Delivering news updates to the micromobility industry, focusing on e-bikes, e-scooters and green transport
Sustainable e-scooter rental company Hopp has secured $2.8 million investment from Brunnur Ventures, to drive international growth of its worldwide franchise strategy.
Hopp says its primary mission is to leave behind a cleaner planet, one ride at a time, with all parts of the business carbon negative. It is focused on smaller cities, local travel and smaller fleets.
“Our goal is to influence the electric scooter market in the same way as McDonald’s for the hamburger,” said CEO Eythór Steinarsson.
“We want to bring this technology to smaller cities where there is a big opportunity and to get locals to work with us. We want to bring the sharing economy to the way people travel daily.”
Brunnur Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Iceland, focused on seed and early-stage investments, emphasising innovation and growth, combined with scalable business models and entrepreneurial talent.
“We’re investing in a different and more environmentally friendly way of travel as well as the sharing economy because that is the future,” said Margrét Ormslev Ásgeirsdóttir, investment manager at Brunnur Ventures, who will take a seat in Hopp’s board.
“We believe that the Hopp thesis coupled with their team’s extensive knowledge has great potential, and with Brunnur’s investment the company can speed up its growth abroad.”
Hopp is expanding its service globally by enabling individuals to launch and operate a Hopp franchise in their area, investing in a growing market and launching their own fleet on an advanced software platform with expert guidance, curated best practices and ongoing support. Franchisees can manage every aspect of their operation from a single comprehensive dashboard, said the company.
Read more: Bird releases new data highlighting positive environmental and economic impact worldwide
The company now has 2,300 scooters and 170,000 users in three countries, and says all franchisees make a return on their investment within one year of launch.
