MILAN – Italy’s biggest insurer Generali has bought a stake in Ridemovi, which offers bicycle and electric scooter sharing services, to help it expand in Italy, Spain and beyond.

Ridemovi, which operates micro-mobility services in 17 Italian and Spanish cities, said on Monday that Generali had bought the undisclosed sized stake through a specialized fund.

The COVID-19 pandemic has helped turn two-wheeled transport into an essential part of urban mobility, giving firms and start-ups offering shared services a new lease of life.

Ridemovi already operates some 30,000 bicycles, e-bikes and e-scooters and said in a statement on Monday that the Generali investment through Ocorian Fund Management would help it grow to 70,000, mainly electric vehicles.

Set up three years ago, Ridemovi now has around 2 million users and said the new funding would allow it to strengthen its position in its two core countries, Italy and Spain, while opening up new markets in Europe and beyond.

“Ridemovi is the leading Italian company in the micro-mobility sector and has developed a very efficient and scalable business model,” said Generali Investments’ portfolio manager Stefano Ferrari.

Insurers around the world are coming under increasing pressure to ramp up action to mitigate climate change and adopt climate-friendly initiatives.

(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; editing by Alexander Smith)

Photo credit: Ridemovi

Topics Mergers Generali Life Assurance (Thailand) Plc.