Through a line of R$ 160 million linked to the Climate Fund, earmarked for companies that help combat climate change, the bank will finance mobility operations.
Tembici, the mobility startup that runs the well-known Itaú bikes, is gaining new momentum to expand its number of bikes throughout Brazil. The company closed a financing agreement worth 160 million riyals with the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES).
The financing is part of a more aggressive investment plan that will provide up to RO 274 million, to be granted over the next three years. Half of this first amount (around R$ 80 million) comes from the Climate Fund, a program linked to the Ministry of the Environment and part of the National Climate Change Policy, which promises lower interest rates for projects aimed at mitigating climate change. climate change. .
The rest of the loan will be granted through BNDES Finem, to finance projects in the urban mobility category. Tembici is the first transport company to receive money from the Climate Fund.
How will the company use the money?
At this first moment, the value will allow the company to expand the production and assembly capacity of bicycles in its factories located in the Manaus Free Trade Zone and in the city of Extrema in Minas Gerais.
In addition, the resource will be used for the purchase of electric and regular bicycles. The objective is to expand the service in cities where the company already operates and in new places in Brazil, as well as investments related to technology and innovation.
“With the support of BNDES, Tembici further consolidates its leadership in micromobility and shared technology in Latin America, standing out in new markets through a business model with competitive investment,” says Leandro Fariello, Tembici’s Chief Financial Officer, in a statement. . note.
On the technological side, Tembici should help the BNDES in the creation of programs related to the development of smart cities with the public authority, sharing information from
- Passed
- Location
- Climate
- Pollution
Sustainability at BNDES
This financing reinforces the BNDES commitment to financing sustainable development. In 2022, during COP27, the Bank made its commitment to provide financial support to institutions that respect social and environmental requirements, such as “green” companies with an emphasis on sustainability and cooperation in the transition to a low carbon economy.
On the same occasion, BNDES also committed to include a carbon footprint account in all loans granted.
The raison d’être of BNDES’s “green” financing is that the use of bicycles, whether electric or shared, contributes to the reduction of carbon emissions in large cities.
says Rafael Pimentel, Head of the BNDES Urban Mobility Division. This potential could be further enhanced with the expansion of e-bike offerings and proper integration with public transportation systems.”
Tembici currently has a national fleet of 21,000 bicycles and is responsible for 200 million bicycle trips in the main Brazilian capitals, such as Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador, Recife and Porto Alegre, as well as Santiago de Chile and Buenos Aires. Argentina and more recently Bogota, Colombia. “We know the power of sustainable rhetoric, and that is our main goal as a company,” CEO Thomas Martins said in an interview with EXAME in 2022.
In the company’s plans for 2023 is to reach new stadiums, such as Belo Horizonte, Florianópolis and Curitiba. In Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Itaú’s bicycle system will be expanded. In the capital, Rio Grande do Sul, there will be 1,000 bicycles and 100 stations, double the current number.