Former soccer star and owner of the Hapoel Rishon Lezion soccer club Eyal Berkovic is investing in LEO, an Israeli e-scooter brand that will begin operating in March - first in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, and Eilat. Berkovic will invest NIS 2 million.
LEO will be the fourth player in shared e-scooters after US brands Bird and Lime and German brand Wind, which have turned Tel Aviv into a global testing site.
LEO belongs to four partners. E-scooter marketer Inokim, owned by brothers Kfir and Dror Benshooshan, holds a 70% controlling interest. Elad Vered owns 20%. Berkovic will own 5%, and the rest is owned by private investors.
LEO is also planning on overseas expansion. It is negotiating to deploy its e-scooters in Australia, Germany, Spain, Russia, and other countries.
LEO is also planning to rent out electric bicycles and compacts by the minute for the same price as e-scooters: NIS 5 per journey, plus NIS 0.50 per minute. This venture will begin in Tel Aviv in time for the Eurovision Song Contest, when thousands of tourists are expected to visit the city. They will be able to travel for free, as long as they have a helmet.
E-scooter riders are legally required to wear a helmet; in addition to the health risk, violators are subject to fines. Since the law eliminates the possibility of spontaneous use of shared e-scooters, LEO will try to solve the problem by leaving a helmet on every scooter for use by the rider (including a disposable cap to be worn under the helmet).
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 6, 2019
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