Our vision
Affordable green mobility in Africa – for all!
AfricroozE GmbH’s vision is to establish e-bike mobility, affordable for the majority of Africans, while at the same time creating jobs, saving CO2, building local expertise and helping to achieve several of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The work takes place from our home base in Hamburg in cooperation with our local partners in Africa.
Fighting poverty and hunger
In the commercial sector, the e-bike creates jobs and income, for example by enabling the sale of home-produced goods on the nearest market, or using it as a bicycle taxi. In doing so, the e-bike promotes economic growth and user independence.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment
The positive effects can be multiplied by sharing an e-bike among several private households, women’s groups or farmers. Women in particular benefit from this, as they carry out a large part of the transport tasks for their families.
Sustainable mobility and climate protection
Powered by solar technology, the e-bike is a zero-emission vehicle and therefore a source of sustainable mobility on the African continent with its growing economy and population.
Health and access to clean water
As an ambulance, the e-bike helps save lives – especially of expectant mothers and their children, as 2 out of 3 births in Africa occur without medical assistance. It also means that even remote villages can more easily manage the sometimes long distances needed to access clean water.
Fighting poverty and hunger
In the commercial sector, the e-bike creates jobs and income, for example by enabling the sale of home-produced goods on the nearest market, or using it as a bicycle taxi. In doing so, the e-bike promotes economic growth and user independence.
Sustainable mobility and climate protection
Powered by solar technology, the e-bike is a zero-emission vehicle and therefore a source of sustainable mobility on the African continent with its growing economy and population.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment
The positive effects can be multiplied by sharing an e-bike among several private households, women’s groups or farmers. Women in particular benefit from this, as they carry out a large part of the transport tasks for their families.
Health and access to clean water
As an ambulance, the e-bike helps save lives – especially of expectant mothers and their children, as 2 out of 3 births in Africa occur without medical assistance. It also means that even remote villages can more easily manage the sometimes long distances needed to access clean water.
Our vision
Our vision is to establish affordable and sustainable e-bike mobility for the majority on the African continent. This will improve living conditions, create jobs and income, reduce poverty, and enable the development of expertise. It will also protect the climate as the e-bike has no CO2 emissions.
Our AfricroozE bikes will normally be financed by the users with the granting of microcredit facilities. In order to reach the poorer parts of the population, we will work with our non-profit partner EURIST : the donations collected through EURIST enable us to provide an e-bike to even the poorest communities and people.
Our Core Team
Thomas Seliger
Joint Chief Executive
Ruth Steimann
Joint Chief Executive
Dr. Jürgen Perschon
Founder and Advisor
Rumbi Ebbefeld
Project Manager
Anka Obergfell
Project Manager
Simone Kiel
Marketing
The Story so Far
more than 500 e-bikes in 8 African Countries
KfW final report delivers important conclusions
Founding of AfricroozE GmbH
In April 2023, EURIST e.V. sets up a commercial subsidiary and the “African e-bike” project became AfricroozE GmbH. This creates a hybrid social enterprise which can operate throughout the entire value chain thanks to its non-profit and profit-oriented elements, giving us a turbo accelerator. As the main shareholder, EURIST e.V. remains significantly involved in the continuing development and management of Africrooze GmbH.
Roll-out of the AfricroozEs in Jinja
Support from the KfW
Bjarne Mädel takes the role of ambassador for the AfricroozE e-bike
In 2019, Bjarne visited the pilot project in Uganda and was impressed by the AfricroozE e-bike. Since then he has been an ambassador for the “African e-bike project”.
Cooperation with HERO CYCLES and HNF-Nicolai
We were able to get HERO CYCLES (one of the largest bicycle manufacturers in the world) and HNF-Nicolai (a bicycle designer in Berlin) enthused about our ideas. Together with our long-standing partner FABIO, the first prototype of the African e-bike was created. It is named “AfricroozE”.
Start of the African e-bike pilot project
The first 3 prototypes were brought into operation in Jinja (Uganda) after a 2-year pilot phase.
Foundation of EURIST e.V.
Jürgen Perschon cycles 2,500 kilometres through East Africa
What we are planning next…..
in the near future
E-bike service centres are to be established in several regions.
Each centre is initially planned to have 30 e-bikes, with a Bike Sharing Station to generate income for the employees.
A solar panel on the roof, or electricity from a local water mill (hydropower) will provide the power to charge the batteries. Electricity will also be provided for routers. Shipping containers will be converted into Solar Service Stations to provide communities with a sustainable energy source and enable affordable mobility. The concept includes photovoltaic and battery storage systems, to support entrepreneurial hubs that can meet the community’s electricity, mobility and other basic needs without using fossil fuels. Publicly accessible, free internet will increase the appeal of the Service Station and make it a social meeting place – just like the bike repair and battery replacement service.
In addition to expanding the infrastructure, we also want to raise awareness of our AfricroozE bikes and significantly increase the number of users.
A special thanks to our partners!
Contact / Imprint
AfricroozE GmbH
+49 (0) 40-53 27 87 40
hello@africrooze.com