Yulu eyes debt funding; to expand into new geographies

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₹25 crore debt from Northern Arc Capital. Launched in 2017, Amit Gupta along with R. K.

Misra and Naveen Dachuri founded Yulu in an attempt to help escape traffic congestion and overcome last-mile mobility challenges in Indian cities. Yulu operates in key markets such as Bengaluru, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Delhi, and Gurugram, and aims to expand to other cities such as Hyderabad and Pune that have a population of at least 10 million. “I think India, for the first time, has a domestic market advantage...maybe Yulu is not into manufacturing, but I see a huge market in the country and with the push from the government and the policy side, I think I feel pretty excited about that opportunity," Gupta said.

The Bengaluru-based Yulu gained prominence through its partnerships with players in the delivery and e-commerce landscape. It has partnered with firms such as Swiggy, Zomato, and Zepto. Food-delivery platforms and e-commerce firms are notorious for high cash-burn, and vehicle operators such as Yulu help them cut costs to some extent.

Yulu estimates that gig workers employed by these platforms can save up to 30% of the cost compared with a fuel-based vehicle. These bikes can cover 80-90 kilometres a day, Gupta said. Several experts in the e-commerce market have also alluded to the sentiment that EVs would be the way ahead for the gig economy to flourish, as this can greatly benefit workers by increasing their take-home wages by cutting down on fuel costs.

Growing demand for EVs has attracted investor attention and encouraged them to bet on the sector proactively. The optimism also comes from government-driven schemes that push for local manufacturing and provide subsidies for electric vehicles. “I think the outlook has changed