Solva Electric motorbikes – Door Deliveries Gone Green

Technology and environment have not gelled so well in the past. But Solva is changing this. Let’s see how.

What influenced you to start Solva?

Solva was established in July 2017. Both founders have high appreciation to environment with sense of responsibility of making tomorrow better to coming generations.

“We’ve evolved to live in communities and build impressive cities, next on the list is to protect these communities and make the cities we have built a safe place to live.”

Yousif Al Abd – Cofounder, Solva technologies

Looking around Dubai, piston engine motorbikes are everywhere delivering food and/or products, why no one is making anything, why don’t we have any cleaner alternative, that was the question that initiated Solva Technologies.

In 2017, the founders conducted a detailed market research and market sounding which indicated the market readiness for electric motorbikes for the last mile and express delivery businesses.

Contributing to the sustainability schema on a global scale – how does that feel?

It is for sure a great feeling to see that we are achieving business KPIs which automatically, with our business, translate to cleaner environment. In 2018 we managed to work and achieve cleaner deliveries with top restaurants and brands such as Zataar W Zeit, Aramex, pizza Dè Roco, and many more.

Next time you order pizza or a sandwich there is a high chance it gets delivered with an electric motorbike using Solva Technologies hardware and big data system.

To build a sustainable business in today’s time and age you need a tailored support system, what was it for you?

This can be seen as internal and external factors that generally impact startups, such as having the right team members, idea, timing, business model, and funding. We made sure as founders that we attract right skilled people who believed in Solva Technologies, and more important, the change it brings.

The timing of Solva Technologies couldn’t be better; supported by a well-developed technology, policies e.g. and government support, such as subsidized registration fees and free Salik toll to its operators, adding to that a high level of environment awareness from business owners and C-Level. All these were well managed and controlled to ensure a sustainable growth.

In addition, Solva Technologies attracted the attention of some of the most influential stakeholders in the country in relation to startup incubation and investments; Sheraa and Catalyst (Masdar Company and British Petroleum Accelerator), which reflects a startups empowering environment

You were the winner of the $50,000 Accelerator Program Grant earlier this year, what did you do differently that made you stand out among the other 10 start-ups?

All of 10 startups are solid and well-structured startups. Solva Technologies revealed to Sheraa team a potential unicorn, driven by the technology we are currently developing which is marrying hardware and software to enable machine learning and move logistics and delivery sector to the internet of things era.

What did you do with the prize money?

The grant from Sheraa was utilized to ensure a continuous testing phase of the identified pivot during the incubation phase. The money is invested in putting more bikes while collecting all needed information and data to advance the pivoting strategy and to ensure meeting market requirements.

What are your insights about your start-up’s current market reach and its future goals?

Many people think of Solva Technologies as an electric delivery motorbike OEM, yet, it is much more than that. At Solva we are shaping the future of electrification for logistics, personal, and many other aspects of the logistics industry. Our agnostic system is made to manage, optimize and potentially operate any type of electric vehicle being a drone, an autonomous vehicle, or a Solva electric vehicle.

As of today, and as mentioned earlier Solva is serving top food chains and express delivery companies while working on finalizing the company’s software using the day to day collected insights and data.

Who were mentors that encouraged you?

We have more than one mentor who supported our growth and played a crucial part for Solva Technologies to reach to the point it is at today. Our mentors come from different background and countries. To mention some, Tarek Fouad from Sheraa has been a great mentor and believer in Solva Technologies, with his experience we worked on our business model and clarified milestones. James Nelson, X-PwC manager deals infrastructure finance supported us in making sure our financial model and financial reporting are all in place and up to industry standards. Firas Khabour, a senior regional manager at a fortune 500 insurance company with a black belt in lean management supported us in mapping and in organizing operations ranging from day to day management to strategic actions. Lastly but not last, Scott Kenedy, a professor at MIT who has been a great supporter to Solva Technologies by sharing his great knowledge in the field of sustainability while providing us access to great value-added networks. We hope this will show our believe in having right mentors who can play a crucial role in startups growth and management.

How did you meet your cofounder?

The founders are brothers!

What are your plans for Solva moving into 2019?

We are currently working on a number of big initiatives with different partners in the logistics and last mile delivery industry which are to be announced as we go over 2019.

A big announcement, expected at the end of Q1 2019 will be the new Solva Technologies electric bike, Series H. Series H is being designed to meet the market requirements from various hardware aspects.

This will also witness the launch of Solva Platform big data analytics software that will enable the adoption of electric motorbikes. 2019 will witness a great electrification phase in the UAE market and will set the basis for the company to move to other counties in the region with one county in Europe.

We wish team Solva Technologies more power in building a cleaner and greener environment!