- Singapore’s bootstrapped Anywheel grew to become the country’s top bike-sharing operator.
- Anywheel now eyes expansion in Singapore and its third Southeast Asian market entry this year.
- The firm succeeded via national regulation alignment and emerging ad revenue streams.
When Htay Aung founded Anywheel in 2017 amidst Singapore’s bike-sharing boom, the bootstrapped startup was dwarfed by billion-dollar-backed rivals like Ofo and Mobike.
Yet today, as those major players have exited the market, Anywheel stands as Singapore’s largest remaining bike-sharing operator, with 30,000 bikes and over 1.3 million users.
Beating the odds
The company succeeded against the odds by avoiding pitfalls like lax parking enforcement and user deposit models, which hastened the demise of earlier sharing startups.
Instead, Anywheel aligned with 2018 national regulations on designated parking stations and has never required deposits.
Aiming to expand geographically
During COVID-19 lockdowns, Anywheel pivoted to meet leisure riding demand. And while ridership patterns have since reverted closer to pre-pandemic commuting usage, advertising revenue is emerging as a second key income stream.
Major brands are being pitched on bike advertising’s advantages like high pedestrian visibility and eco-friendliness.
Anywheel aims now to expand its fleet and geographic footprint in Singapore, enter a third Southeast Asian market this year, and assess a fourth market beyond the region. Seven years on as bike-sharing’s biggest survivor story locally, the company continues to prove skeptics wrong.
