$1.3 million invested
in electric scooters

Rollout of more than

165 expected

Berytech Fund II has invested $1.3 million in Loop, a local operator of electric scooters. A trial operation of 55 scooters has begun in Beirut. It is the first of its kind worldwide for this brand.

The investment funds will be used toward scooter trials before the rollout date, which is expected before summer 2017.

Loop scooters will provide a self-service riding scheme for city-wide journeys. The vehicles will be available for rent by commuters and leisure seekers.

Mira Raham, General Manager at Loop, said that the company has positioned itself as an affordable and easy transportation service.

“Prices fall between public and private transport fees [LL 2,000-15,000 per journey],” she said.

Raham said: “From our research, we found out that the appetite by potential users is very positive, especially university students and young professionals. This is despite that we have only run a few scooters for technical testing.”

Loop is licensed by Vancouver-based LOOPShare, the majority of which is owned by Anwar Sukkarie, who is Chief Executive Officer of the company.

He said: “This is our first deployment on a field-trial basis worldwide. LOOPShare therefore will invest the resources needed to ensure a successful trial and provide a complete rollout of more than 165 scooters in due course.”

Paul Chucrallah, managing director at Berytech Fund II, is also on the board of directors of LOOPShare.

The scooters are equipped with telematics, a booking app to which users can subscribe to receive a PIN number that unlocks the scooter, and allows them to be parked at dedicated docking stations across the city.