Nearly three years after launching a bold initiative to roll out shared bikes in Kigali, GURARIDE, a local start-up, says it is currently running the business as a mere Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) because it does not bring in any profits.

GURARIDE’s bikes first hit the road in late 2021 as the company deployed them across various locations including Kimironko, Gisimenti, Camp Kigali, and around City Hall.

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In April this year, however, the company announced that it was temporarily halting operations, though it did not share details regarding the reason behind the development.

When The New Times reached out to Ike Erhabor, GURARIDE’s president on Monday, September 16, he clarified that the break was for bike maintenance, though he also admitted that the business is not making profits and is essentially run as CSR.

"You know that we are self-funded; we don’t get any funding from anywhere. The little tokens that folks are paying don’t do anything for us. So currently, this is just like Corporate Social Responsibility for us,” he noted.

The bikes have since returned to various parts of the city, including the car-free zone, City Hall, and Camp Kigali. However, GURARIDE is not expecting profits from the initiative.

A ride costs Rwf 300 and the clientele varies in different parts of the city. For example, areas like Kimironko see between 80 to 90 riders a day, while the Central Business District (CBD) attracts about 60 riders.

"We thought we could make money from it, but discovered that we have to raise prices,” he said as he pointed out that if prices are raised, it defeats the purpose of having an average Rwandan riding the bikes.

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"We looked at everything and said ‘no.’ If we do this (raising prices), it is going to make a lot of Rwandans not to ride, so we just left it that way,” he added.

Moving forward, GURARIDE is exploring new revenue streams to offset bike-related costs. One idea is to introduce electric bikes, which will be priced higher and are expected to generate more income.

"We can make money from there (from electric bikes),” he said.

Challenges facing shared bike business

Erhabor pointed out that the market has not fully adapted to shared bikes, particularly women, who are less likely to use the service. He hopes the introduction of electric bikes will encourage more women to participate.

Umar Luzinda, an economics lecturer at the University of Kigali, believes the Rwandan market, driven largely by youth, is unique and open to innovative projects like shared bikes. However, he emphasised the importance of data-driven decision-making in ensuring project success.

"It is market research that drives data-based decisions which correlate with the consumer behaviour,” he noted.

The future of shared bikes in Rwanda

Looking ahead, Erhabor says that NGOs or the government may step in to support shared bike initiatives, similar to models in Europe, where public funds help sustain such services.

"We think at a point, a couple of NGOs or even the government might look at this and say, look guys, you have been doing this for four years, we see that you have struggled and it is not profitable,” he noted.

In addition to the potential profits from electric bikes, GURARIDE hopes to generate revenue from electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.