HumanForest launches £1m crowdfunding campaign to support increased demand

HumanForest, London’s only truly sustainable electric city bike, has launched a £1m crowdfunding campaign with Crowdcube to meet growing levels of demand for its shared e-bikes.

Following a trial in the London Boroughs of Islington and Camden last summer, and a seed investment round of £1.8m, HumanForest is turning to its riders and the general public to help support increased demand.

Capital raised through the campaign will be used to buy more e-bikes, allowing the company to open in 10 London Boroughs next Spring with 1,000 e-bikes, before adding five more Boroughs and 500 e-bikes by July 2021.

With over 50 years’ mobility experience and the backing of Cabify’s founders, HumanForest is on a mission to help improve air quality in cities. After London, the company has its sights set on a second European city by 2022.

Agustin Guilisasti, CEO and founder, said: "At the heart of HumanForest is a desire to help people make sustainable choices that protect the environment. We are excited to launch the crowdfunding campaign, creating another way for sustainability-minded people to do just that. With the crowd’s investment, we will facilitate up to 7,000 rides and avoid almost 4 tons of Co2 from being emitted into London’s air every day. Climate change can be overwhelming and there are still so many unknowns but HumanForest is a choice Londoners can make in their day-to-day lives to reduce their carbon footprint.”

Free for 10 minutes daily with no unlocking fee, HumanForest offers a new approach to urban mobility. HumanForest partners with companies that share the same values and, by advertising on its digital marketing platform, enable the free ride. HumanForest successfully partnered with three sustainably-minded companies during the trial; The Financial Times, Whole Foods Market and Rude Health.

Caroline Seton, Head of Growth, added: “The micro-mobility industry is forecast to grow 20% per year until 2030, transforming cities and helping to create a greener future for all. Over 8m trips per day could be cycled in London and HumanForest, through this campaign, hopes to help facilitate this mode shift, giving the crowd an opportunity to be part of the movement. ”

Pre registration opens today to HumanForest users and the campaign will go live to the public on 17 November 2020. Investment starts from around £10.

Notes to editors

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Notes to editors

HumanForest was founded by Agustin Guilisasti, Michael Stewart and Caroline Seton in November 2019. Following a successful summer trial in London, the company is relaunching in London in Spring 2021.

HumanForest e-bikes are beautiful, functional, electric, dockless, free for the first 10 minutes of each user’s daily journey (no unlocking fee) and represents a healthy lifestyle choice.

By opting to make their daily journey on a HumanForest e-bike, Londoners signal their commitment to reducing carbon emissions and improving our city’s air quality. Working together they become, in essence, a Human Forest.