“We participated in a Start-up School in the Republic of Moldova, where we spent two months working on different ideas that were constantly changing along the way,” recalls Daniel Trohin, co-founder of bike rental company Renter. – Our mentor and I were discussing means of transportation for food delivery couriers. He was in the Netherlands and told us about bicycles, a developed industry there. We decided to see how the market would react to our idea. We went to McDonald’s in Chisinau, talked to some couriers and told them that we had bicycles for rent. Soon they called and asked if we could rent bicycles. But at that time we had absolutely nothing yet.”
In 2022, the startup received initial funding – a €5,000 grant and a €6,000 investment (from the father of one of the project’s co-founders) – and purchased the first six bicycles for courier services in Chisinau.
Then they also got a grant from the Organization for the Development of Entrepreneurship (ODA), with which they bought 11 more electric bikes in December 2022.
“We started analyzing the Moldovan and Romanian markets. We came to the conclusion that there are many advantages in the neighboring country and business can be more profitable. We decided to use the investment to expand beyond the Prut,” continues Daniel Trohin. -Couriers working by car lose 50% of their income on fuel and car maintenance, as well as time in traffic jams and polluting the environment. We offered an eco-friendly alternative.”
By the end of 2023, Renter SRL had 6 rental bikes in Chisinau and 16 in Bucharest. They participated in the GCIP Moldova 2023 competition, organized by the Energy Efficiency Agency, in the category “Environmental Transport” and won a prize of $10,000, which they immediately invested in business development.
At the beginning of 2024, Renter moved to Romania, where it opened an office and purchased 90 bicycles, and by the end of the year had increased the number of bicycles to 200. In Chisinau, the company rents 28 electric bikes.
The company rents electric bikes to both legal entities and individuals. The total price for the company (in Romania) is 200 Romanian lei per week (778 Moldovan lei). The rent includes two batteries, the bike and almost all maintenance. For individuals, Renter offers a more expensive package because such deals involve more processes and risks: 290 RON (1130 MDL) with two batteries or 245 RON (950 MDL) with one battery.
In Chisinau, prices are much lower: renting an electric bike costs 973 lei per month (109 lei/day). If you rent it for a day – 300 lei. With an extra battery – plus 20 lei per day.
The Renter team’s goal is ambitious: to reach an income of one million euros in a year. It has set itself the goal of increasing the fleet to 500 rentable bicycles, which will require funding of 500,000 euros.
However, one can’t help but notice that Renter’s start-up has substituted the Dutch model, which initially involves renting conventional bicycles. They are cheaper, easier to maintain, don’t require charging with electricity and are therefore more environmentally friendly. And, most importantly, much healthier.
Perhaps, in the difficult terrain of Chisinau, electric bicycles are more justified for commercial use – couriers are less tired. But we cannot ignore the question: why have the rentals of conventional bicycles, which 10-15 years ago were in every park in the capital, disappeared?
As we managed to find out, there is only one company left in Chisinau for renting ordinary bicycles – Velomania. Rent for an hour costs 80 lei, for two hours 150 lei, for a full day 320 lei, for a day – 400 lei. The package includes a helmet, a bike lock, a bag and a flashlight. Recently, electric bicycles have also appeared in the company’s rentals. They are available only for a month for 4000 lei or for two hours for 7200 lei. The rental center is located near the lake Valea Morilor, the only park with bicycle paths.
On condition of anonymity, the administrator of one of the bicycle store chains said that they had calculated the options of creating a rental of ordinary bicycles, but under the current conditions they did not see any prospects in this business.
“In the Netherlands they rent junk bicycles at the price of 5 euros per day. This option will not work in Chisinau. The expenses (depreciation, maintenance, repair, wages, etc.) are, according to our calculations, 1 leu/km for an inexpensive bicycle and 2 lei for an expensive one. Hourly rental, in conditions when only children under 16 are allowed to ride in Chisinau parks, is not an option. Therefore, due to the current economic conditions, this type of activity has practically stopped. If the capital city mayor’s office can find economic incentives, we will be happy to do this kind of business,” said the entrepreneur.
