Pony’s shared bikes and scooters accelerate with a fundraising of 6 million euros – Le Journal des Entreprises – Maine-et-Loire
To achieve its ambitions, in particular that of being present in all French cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, the Angevin company Pony, which offers shared bicycles and scooters for rental, has just raised 6 million euros from Épopée Gestion and its historical investors Demeter Investment Managers and Aquiti Gestion. The Angevin operator, already present in 15 European cities including Angers and Brussels, says it has increased its turnover by 10 between 2019 and 2022 (CA: NC) and wants to continue its growth in France and Belgium, while consolidating its research and development efforts.
A unique participatory model
Founded in 2018 by Paul-Adrien Cormerais and Clara Vaisse, the Angevin company Pony offers the rental of self-service bicycles, electric bikes and electric scooters. The company has developed a unique participatory model, Adopt a Pony, each vehicle belonging to an individual who collects the earnings generated on each trip. The company is responsible for logistics, recharging and maintenance. “Adopt a Pony now brings together more than 1,800 owners in Europe, specifies Clara Vaisse, general manager of Pony. Often users of the service, they are inhabitants convinced of the role that Pony has to play in the fight against climate change. “
With the capital increase completed, Pony now intends to take an additional step: “Over the past 24 months, adds Paul-Adrien Cordemais, President of Pony, we have proven the usefulness and popularity of our services in very different: large cities like Brussels or Angers, cities on a human scale like Bourges, cities in the outer suburbs like Évry-Courcouronnes… Everywhere, our services are very successful and make life easier for residents who do not own a car. With a carbon footprint ten times lower than that of a car (29 g of CO2 emitted per kilometre), each trip with a Pony bike or scooter drastically reduces the main center of carbon emissions in France: urban transport.”
Develop your own bike
The Angevin operator, which has established itself in 13 cities in two years, wishes to accelerate its deployment in new cities – France has around 120 cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants -, but also to accelerate on the technological level. The company wants to complete the design of its own electric bike and implement a strategy to repatriate its production to European soil. Both to continue its networking and to accelerate R&D, Pony, which has more than 500,000 unique users, expects the arrival of 15 new employees in the coming months.
