Identifying New Opportunities for a Bike Rental Social Enterprise in Tanzania

globalbike is a multi-national non-governmental organization working in Tanzania that aims to advance women’s empowerment through providing bicycle rentals to improve mobility and transports. Since its founding in 2006, globalbike has collaborated with two women’s cooperatives to operate three bike shops, influencing thousands of users across six villages. While the organization has achieved significant milestones, it continuously seeks to refine its operational model to better serve the community. This includes evolving partnerships with women’s cooperatives to foster more sustainable practices; addressing the challenge of scattered shop distribution to improve service accessibility; and exploring additional services to increase the utility of bicycles.

Through this workshop project, the SIPA team proposed a new business/operation model that would enable globalbike to scale up through decentralization and to bundle bike rentals with agricultural products and machines. First, through a decentralized model of partnering with women micro-enterprises, in addition to women’s cooperative, globalbike would be able to scale up in Moshi specifically and in Kilimanjaro in general by rendering agencies and flexibilities to these micro-enterprises. Second, coupling bike rentals with essential agricultural products, such as seeds and machinery—vital for the livelihoods of rural Tanzanians—could transform bicycles into vital conduits for broader economic development. This integrated approach aims to leverage bikes not only as transportation solutions but also as tools for economic empowerment and growth.