Fiets! founder invests in Brussels-based e-folding bike company Ahooga

Hendrik Winkelmans, founder of Fiets!, is investing in Ahooga, a producer of electric folding bikes. The amount of the investment has not been disclosed.

Winkelmans is investing “several million” euros in the Brussels-based bike company through his Freshmen Fund. This gives him a significant minority stake in Ahooga. Founders Phil Lefrancq and Laetitia Lambotte will stay on to continue building the company. Co-founder Frederic Mertens will exit the company as a result of the deal.

Last year, Winkelmans consolidated the minority stakes he had built in six companies under one umbrella: Freshmen. He raised 15 million euros for the new fund. Investors include Wouter Torfs, Christophe Degrez (CEO of Eneco), Ahmed Hilami (founder of online printing company Flyer), and Partners in Equity, one of the early investors in Dutch fintech company Adyen. The ambition is to make around 15 investments over the coming years and to closely coach the companies involved.

Ahooga, a start-up based in Uccle, designed an electric folding bike that can travel 50 kilometers on a fully charged battery. It is positioning itself as a challenger to Brompton, the popular British brand synonymous with folding bikes. The company was founded five years ago by Phil Lefrancq, his wife Laetitia Lambotte, and their friend Frederic Mertens. It currently has two models: an electric folding bike and a cargo bike capable of carrying groceries or a small child. Since its inception, Ahooga has sold approximately 10,000 bikes.

At the time, Winkelmans bundled six participations into Freshmen, including his stake in Würst, the gourmet hotdog chain launched by TV chef Jeroen Meus. He acquired Würst after it went bankrupt. Freshmen is also one of the financiers behind Cake, the financial app created by Davy Kestens. To support the further growth of its portfolio companies, Freshmen is currently opening its capital to additional investors. By early next year, the fund aims to reach an available capital of 30 million euros.

Source: De Tijd, Michaël Sephiha, 10/10/2020, This is an automatically generated translation of the original article, Link to original article.