Japanese shared e-scooter firm raises $7.9m

Luup, an electric micromobility sharing platform based in Japan, has raised 1 billion Japanese yen (US$7.97 million) through debt and asset financing.

The deal involved loans from MUFG Bank, Japan Finance Corporation, and The Shoko Chukin Bank. It also included sale-leaseback transactions with Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing, Mitsubishi HC Capital, and other institutions.

Photo credit: Luup

Luup runs a fleet of e-scooters and e-bikes that users on its app can borrow for short-distance trips. It operates in high-density cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Yokohama, and is currently expanding its supported locations.

Founded by Daiki Okai, Naomichi Okada, and Ryotaro Makita in 2018, Luup also aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions while providing mobility to elderly and disabled individuals.

The deal comes as Japan’s parliament received a bill that amends its road traffic law and raises the maximum speed of some e-scooters to 20 kilometers per hour. Under the proposed revisions, a driver’s license will not be required for riders who are at least 16 years old, and the e-scooter’s maximum speed is 20 kilometers per hour or lower – roughly as fast as a bicycle.

Japan’s micromobility market is expected to be worth US$11.6 million by 2030.

Currency converted from Japanese yen to US dollar: US$1 = 125.35 yen

See also: 50 rising startups in Japan