Wolt wins title of Europe's top startup in Tech5's 2020 contest
In the latest edition of the Tech5 startup competition, Wolt, a Finnish food delivery platform, has emerged as the winner, taking home the title of "2020's Most Promising Startup." The competition, now in its seventh year, showcases Europe's 100 top tech scale-ups, and this year's event saw the participation of several notable startups.
Wolt, which partners with over 15,000 restaurants in 90 cities across 23 countries, has made a significant impact in the food delivery industry. The company has also taken steps to reduce its carbon footprint, compensating for the CO2 emissions of its deliveries since 2019, including past deliveries dating back to 2015. Wolt is currently testing a zero-emission electric vehicle (EV) fleet with swappable batteries in Prague and other European cities as part of the NG SEED project supported by EIT Urban Mobility.
Tier, another contender in the competition, took second place. The German company offers affordable, accessible, and sustainable urban transport with e-scooters and e-mopeds, and has achieved a certified climate-neutral status in January 2020, making it the world's first micro-mobility company to do so. Tier's e-scooters and e-mopeds are available in over 70 cities across nine countries.
Cowboy, a Belgian startup that took third place, focuses on electric bicycles as an alternative to car transport in cities. The company recently raised 23 million euros in a Series B funding round and offers a connected electric bike designed for city dwellers, featuring integrated lights, a removable battery, a carbon belt transmission, and connects to an app for a range of features and services, including crash detection and on-demand repair and maintenance.
Roelant Prins, Chief Commercial Officer of Adyen, expressed pride in having Wolt as one of their merchants. Adyen is one of the brands collaborating on Tech5.
The full overview of the country winners of Tech5 2020 has been provided, with Refurbed (Austria), Cowboy (Belgium), Neuron Soundware (Czech Republic), Dixa (Denmark), eAgronom (Estonia), Wolt (Finland), Stuart (France), Tier Mobility (Germany), Codecool (Hungary), Urban Volt (Ireland), Milkman (Italy), Ziticity (Lithuania), SwapFiets (The Netherlands), CHOOOSE (Norway), Tylko (Poland), Defined Crowd (Portugal), Jeff (Spain), Cellink (Sweden), Ava (Switzerland), and Starling Bank (UK) making up the list.
In addition to Wolt, Tier, and Cowboy, several other startups are making strides in reducing their carbon footprints and enhancing sustainability in urban transportation and food delivery. Further details on these initiatives can be found through targeted searches.
Scientists are examining the carbon-offset strategies implemented by Wolt, a Finnish company, which compensates for all CO2 emissions from deliveries since 2015. In the realm of environmental science, Tier, a German micro-mobility company, achieved climate-neutral status in January 2020, becoming the world's first of its kind.
The tech competition showcased several startups like Tier and Wolt, who are leveraging technology to promote sustainability in urban transport and food delivery, illustrating the intersection of climate-change, environmental-science, and technology.
