E-cargo bike delivery company Zedify is expanding its operations across the UK after raising £5 million of funding.
Manchester and Birmingham have been selected as two major UK cities that stand to benefit from Zedify’s services.
This will bring the total number of cities Zedify operates in to 12, making it available to about 20% of the UK population. Zedify’s clients include major retail brands, leading national parcel carriers and hundreds of local independent businesses.
The round was led by Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital and MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund. Additional funds came from original investors, Green Angel Syndicate, and new investors, Prova.
“This funding is huge for us and huge for the impact it will have on cities, too,” Rob King, Zedify Co-Founder and CEO, told Zag Daily.
“We’ve done the maths and the carbon savings are massive – over 90% per parcel – when you compare our cargo trikes to vans, even electric ones.”
According to King, strategically placed hubs enable the company to easily deliver more over a day than a van travelling into a city from an out-of-town depot.
“That’s because our trikes have a sizable loadspace plus they can use cycle infrastructure and filter past traffic,” he said.
“With the upwards trend towards using cargo bikes for urban logistics, there’s the strong potential for a virtuous circle: the more we switch mode to cargo bikes, the less traffic, and the less traffic, the quicker, safer and cleaner it is for delivery vehicles and everybody else travelling and living within cities.”
This new funding is over three times higher than the £1.5m Zedify raised in 2020 and 2021.
Gavin Chapman, Co-Head of Principal Investments at Barclays, said the delivery and logistics industry will require significant investment over the coming years to align with the UK’s net zero targets.
“Barclays are proud to support Zedify in their goal to normalise the use of hyperlocal microhubs and zero-emission delivery vehicles within UK cities.”
