Technology firm ATOM Mobility is launching a venture building programme to help ambitious entrepreneurs build local mobility businesses from zero.
The free nine-week online accelerator programme is for entrepreneurs looking to start a business in one of ATOM’s three core verticals – vehicle sharing, ride-hailing or on-demand delivery.
Up to EUR 30,000 in technology and business support is up for grabs which will be split among the strongest teams at the end of the course.
Eligible applicants will be evaluated and 15 teams selected to participate in the programme.
Under the guidance of experienced mentors from companies including EIT Urban Mobility, Adyen and Movmi, the participants will work on ideation, goal setting, market exploration, product building and sales and marketing.
Zag Daily spoke with one of the mentors, Jürgen Sahtel, who is ATOM Mobility’s Partnerships and Project Manager.
“One of the primary aims of this venture building project is to empower local entrepreneurs to get involved in shared mobility businesses, so they can serve their own cities and help the local community,” he said.
As of Q1 2022, just 52% of cities in Europe have shared e-scooters, which is something ATOM Mobility is determined to fix.
“We help entrepreneurs target smaller cities with smaller fleets with smaller teams who can run the operations efficiently so they can turn a profit,” said Sahtel. “It is a very targeted approach.
“This is not about putting 40,000 vehicles in ten major cities in Europe, but actually targeting cities that have a population of 30-80,000 and then dropping 150 vehicles there to serve the local residents.”
By the end of the course participants will be ready to launch their Minimum Viable Product (MVP), face investors and start their mobility businesses.
Once an entrepreneur has established themselves in a local market, they can then start rolling out one of ATOM’s other software solutions in its three core verticals.
While there are no set geographical restrictions, ATOM will prioritise applications from Europe and MENA.
Applications are open until 13 September 2022.
