SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA) announced today it has made a growth capital investment in Skootel, Puerto Rico’s leading micromobility-as-a service company, which enables users to rent scooters and bikes by the minute through an app. This investment will enable Skootel to expand its low-carbon transportation operations in Puerto Rico and further develop its innovative software and data analysis systems, with potential application well beyond the island.
Puerto Ricans could make better use of public transportation, and the island has one of the highest car-to-people ratios in the world. Skootel’s fleet of scooters and biciPOP electric bicycles are affordable and accessible. The vehicles are also healthful and better for the environment. The scooters help with short distances or “the last mile” to work, school, or special events, and biciPOP bicycles fill longer distance gaps.
Skootel launched the first micro-mobility service in Puerto Rico in August 2019 and since then has grown to 2,600 scooters, 120 bikes, 5 markets, 1.5M+ rides, and more than 200K users. Users have clocked more than 1.6M miles, saving 500+ tons of CO2 emissions and reducing the environmental footprint.
Juan Carlos Parra and Aldo Briano founded Skootel after returning to their home island of Puerto Rico in 2018 following a decade in the Silicon Valley. These University of Puerto Rico and Stanford graduates have been executives and founders of several tech startups and together have raised more than $15M in venture capital, building startups from $0 to more than $10M in annual recurring revenue. Parra and Briano are applying their backgrounds and insights in data analytics to address challenges in vehicle placement and maintenance in unique ways that are central to success in the micro-mobility industry, which is predicted to grow to close to $200B in the next seven years.
“Our mission is to improve the lives of our users with ecofriendly transportation options. With the operational expertise, playbooks and proprietary technology we’ve developed, we believe Skootel is on track to becoming LATAM’s #1 micro-mobility operator, no doubt,” said CEO Juan Carlos Parra.
In 2023, Skootel expects to expand to 10 new markets in Puerto Rico and further develop its healthy environmentally conscious alternative in San Juan, Ponce, Mayagüez, Guaynabo, and La Parguera. Skootel currently has 50+ employees and that number increases monthly.
“CDVCA is pleased to support Skootel’s innovation and growth, bringing convenient, affordable, low-carbon micro-mobility options to Puerto Rico, and at the same time creating significant numbers of high-quality employment opportunities for Puerto Ricans,” said CDVCA President, Kerwin Tesdell. “We look forward to partnering with Skootel as it expands and brings its unique data analysis approach to meet demands for safe and convenient micro-mobility options in Puerto Rico and beyond.”
“Skootel is much more than just scooters and bikes,” notes COO Aldo Briano. “At our core we are a logistics and data company. That’s our secret sauce. Using predictive analytics, we believe our proprietary software will enable us to become market leaders, and at the same time, we will be positioned to help other companies analyze demand and prioritize their products and services.”
About CDVCA
CDVCA invests risk capital in promising, high growth companies, as well as in impact investment funds, to help create good jobs, productive wealth, and entrepreneurial capacity in underinvested communities. Founded in 1995, CDVCA has invested more than $320 million throughout the nation. In Puerto Rico, CDVCA manages the $45 Puerto Rico Fund for Growth and the Unlock Capital business accelerator program. In addition to its own investment activities, CDVCA is the national network of the community development venture capital industry. www.cdvca.org
About Skootel
Skootel was founded in 2019 by Puerto Rican entrepreneurs Juan Carlos Parra and Aldo Briano, who after working in Northern California’s Silicon Valley, decided to return to Puerto Rico to establish an innovative micromobility company, generate new employment opportunities, and position Puerto Rico as a leader in the adoption of alternative transportation methods. Skootel has attracted more than 200,000 users and delivered more than 1.5 million rides while perfecting its proprietary technology solutions.
