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~ Berlin Cycle City ~

o enforce developments and innovation in the Environment with €400,000. Before such an event, there was a
field of bikes and e-bikes, the city announced its lack of local distribution centres (city hubs) suitable for smaller
Tinvestment in infrastructure and future-orientated and more sustainable delivery vehicles such as cargo bikes or cargo
planning to enforce environmentally-friendly mobility. trikes. Here, the five largest parcel service providers in Germany
are testing the delivery with cargo bikes on its last mile.
On July 5th, 2018, the Berlin Senate passed the first law on cy-
cling and mobility. The Senate is determined to transform Berlin Meanwhile, ImagineCargo has also set up its own city hub. It
into a bicycle city within ten years, following the examples set by turns out that this is not enough to meet what is necessary: “One
Copenhagen and Amsterdam. hub is far from being enough for a city like Berlin. It needs more
than 10 hubs at least to cover the most densely populated areas,”
Besides working out a long term strategic plan, Berlin has says Mika Koopmann, COO at ImagineCargo.
also developed smaller incentives such as a cargo bike funding
program (Lastenrad Förderung Berlin), which financially sup- It is only a matter of time until Berliners won’t come around
ports the purchase of cargo bikes for private persons, as well as to notice cargo bikes, especially in the field of food and bever-
businesses and freelancers. This means up 33% of the net worth age delivery and parcel logistics. Until then, there are still a few
of cargo bikes will be sponsored, however: hurdles to be jumped but understanding the market’s needs
• max. €500 for a non-electric cargo bike and conditions is key to success for new projects to come. Two
• max. €1.000 for an electric cargo bike exemplary aspects can be mentioned in this context:

This year, the total funding in 2019 amounts to €500,000 and re- 1. It can be seen that Berlin residents show different traffic pat-
quests are met according to the “first come, first served” principle. terns depending on their location in the city. The inhabitants in
the districts Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Mitte cover more
But why are Berliners comparably bike-averse in the first place? distances by foot than the inhabitants of other districts. The
It’s because the city is not designed for bike traffic and because, shares are highest for cycling in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and
until just recently, the authorities did not face the issues with Pankow, public transport in Lichtenberg and Marzahn-Hellers-
priority. This was a mistake for several reasons. As more and dorf, and motor transport in Reinickendorf and Spandau.
more people move to Berlin, so do cars. Alongside traffic there
is a steady rise in e-commerce parcel traffic. Although there has 2. Regarding beverage delivery to the many cafés and delis, there
been a slight downward trend in the last 10 years, traffic still is a fundamental solution in Berlin: lack of cold chain storage
continues to cause around a quarter of the climate-relevant CO2 and delivery. Many cafés, especially the trendy and hip cafes,
emissions in Berlin. order at specialized beverage distributors who do not offer
cold chain distribution. This is a perfect loophole for a cargo
There is a lot that Berlin can learn from Amsterdam. Since Am- bike solution with cold delivery to enter the German market.
sterdam is getting more and more crowded, teeming with tour-
ists, red traffic lights that do not apply and cyclists who focus Knowing these details is not helpful to evaluate a new market’s
on their mobile phones, the similarities with Berlin are obvious. potential but is crucial to understanding how to do it in the first
But how is Berlin going to master these challenges without the place. Partnering up with a local research partner or, if time allows,
experiences of the world’s busiest bicycle capital? spending some time on the ground is an effective way to find the
loopholes that increase the odds for a successful market entry. ••
Berlin is in fact actively looking for role models and help from
think tanks, not only regarding private bicycle use but also very
much in a commercial context. Especially regarding the latter, the
city hopes to alleviate traffic congestion in the inner city circle. About Expansion.eco
Expansion.eco is a partner to purpose-driven businesses that
One of the more ambitious and remarkable projects is conducted want to expand into new markets. Since the rate of failed
by ImagineCargo, a Berlin-based start-up, providing sustainable market entries due to internationalization is very high (>80 %),
parcel logistics solutions as a green alternative to DHL & co. It Expansion.eco validates and de-risks markets, deploys expert
is striving to become Germany’s most sustainable parcel service knowledge and manage businesses in new markets to increase
by aiming to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) output by up to 99 the odds of successful internationalisation.
percent. Currently, ImagineCargo focuses primarily on Berlin
and Hamburg but it is planning to deliver to the ten biggest cit- We combine market intelligence services and expert knowledge for
ies in Germany before the end of 2019. maximum target market transparency. Expansion.eco is a one-stop
shop for expansion services such as market research, localisation,
Last year, another missing puzzle piece was added to Berlin’s strive partner matchmaking, recruiting, marketing, sales, etc.
for a sustainable urban logistics ecosystem: the first city hub was
created in Prenzlauer Berg, supported by the Federal Ministry of

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