Donkey Republic secures 5,5M EUR in debt for vehicle financing through the Danish Green Investment Fund (DGIF).
Donkey Republic raises 5,5M EUR in asset backed financing from the Danish Green Investment Fund (DGIF). The money will be used to co-finance their expansion to the entire Antwerp region, Belgium in 2022, one of the largest e-bike deals in Europe ever made with a bike share company.
Today more than 70% of Europeans live in cities and therefore transforming the way we move is critical in achieving a sustainable future. With Donkey Republics growing herd of affordable and accessible shared bikes across Europe and beyond, they are working to get cities and people to join the republic and be a part of democratizing green mobility, to not only transform cities, but lives. Donkey republic works to challenge the entire mobility industry to rethink what it means to be a sustainable mobility company. It is a company that believes in making sustainable mobility available to everyone as well as focusing on the green, physical and mental health benefits from using their bikes.
Part of Donkey Republic’s 2024 business plan as presented in the company description, explains that the expansion of their own fleet will, to a large extent, be paid for via asset backed financing, like this agreement with DGIF. It will help Donkey Republic to bring close to 2.000 of their new Generation3 e-bikes to Antwerp. Donkey Republic’s new e-bikes are made with carefully selected high quality components and ensure that the design is not only modern, but also practical and safe. The loan from DGIF will finance the complete cost for the e-bikes to be deployed in Antwerp plus any further extension for the surrounding municipalities. Donkey Republic is covering the cost to ramp up the operation as well as the running cost.
“We are very excited to have DGIF as a financing partner as they share our high standards in regards to improving city transportation in a sustainable way. Also this shows that financing bikes is an attractive option for large institutional investors such as DGIF,“ says Christian Dufft, CFO at Donkey Republic
Recognising the potential in sustainable micromobility investments
The Danish Green Investment Fund is an independent state loan fund with the purpose of co-financing economically viable projects that facilitate and support the sustainable development of our society. Their backing of our efforts is a testimony not only to the fact that there is a green and sustainable focus in Donkey Republic’s business but also that the micromobility market and bikes in particular are considered economically viable.
“The sustainable transition of our society requires action in all sectors and industries across the globe. How we enable people to choose a more sustainable alternative in their daily commuting and solve the problem with the last mile in bigger cities, is an important part of this transition. Therefore, we are pleased to fund Donkey Republic along their journey in scaling their sustainable solutions across Europe,” says Michael Zöllner, managing director in the Danish Green Investment Fund.
While electric cars seem to take much of the public debate concerning greenification of transport, many studies point to bike-sharing being key for a truly sustainable future of urban transport. Donkey Republic bikes and e-bikes 1) enable active mobility contributing greatly to public health, 2) reduce CO2 emissions in transport and 3) also reduce congestion by making public transport more attractive.
“In Donkey Republic, we are certain that cities and nations will increasingly and eventually
make the most sensible decisions for social welfare. When it comes to urban mobility, what
Donkey is offering is the best that a city can wish for: We provide a turn-key solution that is
affordable, flexible and responsible,” says Erdem Ovacik, CEO and Co-founder of Donkey Republic
Details of the loan
● Borrower: DonkeyRepublic Admin ApS
● Lender: The Danish Green Investment Fund
● Purpose: Co-financing of electric bicycle scheme in Antwerp
● Loan: Up to 5,5M EUR (41.2M DKK ),which will be disbursed in tranches. The first tranchof 3,3M EUR (24,6M DKK ) to be paid out in December 2021 and the second one to be paid out once the extension to the surrounding municipalities is finalized (expected in the second half of 2022). The loan has a maturity of 5 years and will be paid back with quarterly installments. The loan is in line with the general market terms of DGIF.
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ABOUT DGIF
The Danish Green Investment Fund is an independent state loan fund with the purpose of co-financing economically viable projects that facilitate and support the sustainable development of our society. The Danish Green Investment Fund seeks to bridge the gap between traditional bank financing and equity capital. The fund co-finance projects within environmental savings, renewable energy sources and resource efficiency.
ABOUT DONKEY REPUBLIC
Donkey Republic is a leading provider of end-to-end bike-sharing solutions. The Company is expanding across Europe and as of Q3 2021 it operates +13K bikes in 15 cities as Mobility-as-a-Service (“MaaS”) provider as well as licenses its platform as Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) to partners operating +3,100 bikes across +60 cities. Based on its proprietary software at the core, Donkey Republic offers cities and local partners a fully integrated turn-key solution, including software critical to all stakeholders, bikes, operations, and support services. Donkey Republic taps into megatrends such as sustainability, sharing economy, and urbanisation, and has a vision of making city life better for everyone with affordable and responsible bike-sharing.
