MOVO closes a financing round of more than 20 million euros, led by Mutua Madrileña and with the participation of Seaya Ventures and Cabify.
The capital will be used to shore up the company’s business, accelerate its expansion into other markets and increase its fleet of shared mobility vehicles.
MOVO’s new market expansion includes Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.
Madrid, April 11th, 2019 – MOVO, a Spanish micro-mobility startup, with operations also in Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru, announced today the entry by insurance company Mutua Madrileña and venture capital fund Seaya Ventures in its shareholding. With this transaction, Mutua Madrileña and Seaya Ventures join the Spanish mobility company Cabify as MOVO’s main shareholders and reinforce the company’s plans of leading the micro-mobility market in Spain and Latin America.
The financing round announced, for more than 20 million euros, also includes contributions from other investors. The new funding will enable MOVO to strengthen its business model and drive its growth in new markets with micro-mobility solutions through electric vehicles.
MOVO aspires to lead the micro-mobility market in Spain and Latin America, through solutions like electric motorcycles and scooters. It already has operations in Spain, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru, and intends to broaden its footprint in new markets such as Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. MOVO also has plans to increase its vehicle fleet in countries where it currently has a presence, reinforcing and strengthening its position. The company’s plans are highly ambitious, with its strategic roadmap calling for expansion into a total of 10 countries by the end of 2019.
MOVO has a clear roadmap to become a leader in micro-mobility. According to CEO Pedro Rivas: «We are very excited to be able to offer a solution to the problems of mobility in cities, particularly for short distances in areas with high population density. We are committed to working together with governments to complement mass public transport with these new micro-mobility alternatives, so that people can get around in a more sustainable and efficient way».
For Seaya Ventures, “this investment is a new step of our alliance and commitment to Cabify, with which we have worked since 2013 as one of its main shareholders, and its strategic vision to provide inclusive technology-based mobility solutions in cities”, said Beatriz Gonzalez, founder and Managing Partner of Seaya Ventures. «We are committed to the evolution of mobility towards sustainable alternatives in the world’s major cities. We want to be part of the transport revolution by promoting projects like Cabify and, of course, MOVO. We are motivated to continue to promote companies with which we share this sense of responsibility towards the development and improvement of people’s quality of life”, Gonzalez added.
For its part, Cabify, a participant of the Global Compact and, therefore, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations, reaffirms its commitment to sustainable mobility through this commitment to MOVO. In 2018, it became the first multimodal (or Mobility as Service, MaaS) company in Europe and Latin America to integrate the sector of the taxi into its platform and to offset 100% of its CO2 emissions and has active plans to not only offset, but also to mitigate the carbon footprint associated with mobility, as well as to continue complementing its platform to offer each person the mobility solution that best suits their specific needs.
«For us, MOVO is an example of how to develop micro-mobility solutions by putting the needs of the citizen at the center of the company’s activity, and with a clear commitment to offering a quality service and maximum convenience to their needs. “MOVO and Cabify coincide 100% in our strategic vision of turning cities into better places to live”, remarked Juan de Antonio, Founder of Cabify. «The central axis of Cabify’s strategy is to integrate all alternatives that improve mobility in cities, from P2P alternatives or taxis to micro-mobility options like those offered by MOVO», he added.
Mutua Madrileña is leading this round, the first capital increase made by the firm. The acquisition of a stake in Movo confirms Mutua Madrileña’s commitment to grow in the field of shared urban mobility, a segment in full expansion worldwide, which considers strategic. Javier Mira, CEO of Mutua Madrileña said that «to cover all the needs of our customers in the field of mobility and accelerate the process of diversification of business are two of the main objectives of the Strategic Plan 2018-2020 of the Mutua Group. The equity investment in Movo reflects Mutua Madrileña’s aspiration to respond to the new mobility needs that are emerging, and to the economic and social changes that are occurring and that are transforming our life habits. In addition, the transaction allows Mutua to participate in the talent and expertise of Movo in growing business”.
MOVO stands out for having worked since the beginning of its operations hand in hand with local authorities, with official permits of the governments that have a regulation for the micro-mobility, such as Madrid and Mexico City, in addition to actively promoting the creation of policies and regulatory frameworks that foster entrepreneurship, innovation and guarantee sustainable mobility alternatives in all the markets in which it operates.
