Bob Ultee is the author and creator of the BoB Eco businesses. He works hard for the business as an investor and businessman. The BoB Eco is an electric vehicle and clean energy company striving for equal rights and opportunities. They are changing up the usual system of petrol-fueled motorcycles with electric bikes. Bob Ultee and his team are focusing on eco-friendly techniques to improve the air quality and even provide financing options. Bob and his team believe in equal opportunities, and they are fulfilling their beliefs through their work.
Let’s hear it all in Bob’s words below.
Bob Ultee, Explain the background of you and the company in detail.
I am the author and creator of the BoB Eco programme, the BoB community, and BoB entrepreneurial courses for independent BoB Eco businesses. I am a multi-disciplinary professional investor and businessman. I also was a finalist of the Ernst and young “entrepreneur of the year” competition and the first to make a reverse listing on the EURONEXT (Dutch stock Exchange) in 20 Years. BoB Eco (BoB) is an electric vehicle and clean energy company specializing in selling electric motorcycles in developing countries. BoB’s main business model is selling affordable electric vehicles to be used as (motorcycle) taxis to carry passengers and deliver food, parcels, and agricultural products.
BoB provides charging stations where the vehicle’s batteries can be swapped. Bob Ultee mission is to create a world where motorcycle transport is cleaner and more profitable for consumers whilst unburdening the environment of the pollution produced by classic petrol bikes. BoB makes an enormous impact on the riders’ lives, their families, and whole communities.
The fundamentals of the BoB concept started in 2017 when the founders started providing micro credits to individuals through various savings and credit co-operatives (SACCOs) across emerging markets. Focusing on the African markets, the pair harnessed their extensive experience to serve small and medium-scale markets. As time progressed, they became interested in the clear and proven requirement for transport and logistics solutions from the growing population in these emerging markets.
Bob Ultee, What are your goals?
With a philosophy of striving for equal rights and opportunities, we want to clean up the earth by replacing petrol-fuelled motorcycles with electric motorcycles. These motorcycles help to transport goods and people. We will build charging stations in key locations passed by motorcycle riders every day to easily swap their batteries as they are riding to their next stop. We created an app that can be used to order riders or arrange a motorcycle rider that will take your goods to the desired location.
Bob Ulteesays, Our mission is to significantly improve air quality. To obtain this, we offer financing options for these electric motorcycles, to allow youngsters the opportunity to finance them. My focus is on improving the livelihoods of entire communities and educating them about safety, equality, financial planning, and environmental friendliness.
Bob Ultee, What do you feel is the biggest strength of yourself/company right now?
 Our biggest strength is first BoB Eco, an electric vehicle and clean energy company specializing in electric motorcycles in developing countries. Our main business model is selling affordable electric motorcycles to be used as motorcycle taxis to carry passengers and deliver food, parcels, and agricultural products. We raised tens of millions in our Series A secondary market funding round. The fresh capital will be deployed for strengthening our battery assignment technology, scaling our operations to service 200,000 electric vehicles, and expanding to 15 emerging countries.
Bob Ultee, THE NEXT STEP – THE FIRST ICO-WA!
Once listed on the primary market, our BobCoin offering will become more comparable to an ICO, yet we will be very different from a regular ICO. Most ICOs do not have (clearly) identifiable assets or a balance sheet, but BobCoin does. That’s why we call our listing an ICO-WA, an ICO with assets, a novelty in the world of crypto.
These are the next steps we will take:
During the STO sale, we sold over 25% of the original tokens to people from more than 30 different countries during the first round. This has enabled us to lay a very strong foundation for the company as we created an active follower base of around 70,000 people! We could not have dreamt of creating such a strong foundation when we started. The proceeds have been used to develop and optimize product durability, technology, and scalability. The successful Series A secondary-market funding enables us to guarantee the future of the company! Due to the gigantic demand for our electric vehicles and lease-to-own service, we foresee that the growth in the upcoming years will be much greater than we could have predicted.
As indicated in our news bulletins, our concept is now receiving the attention of governments and larger (logistics) organizations. This interest and willingness to engage in partnerships have provided the certainty to elevate our ambitions. To supply the freshly gained Bob Eco EV-demand, we have decided to bring forward a second round of funding by offering the BobCoin on the primary market. Moving from the secondary market (STO-Cap) to the primary market makes it easier to reach a larger audience.
We will offer 200 to 250 million BobCoins (20–25% of the total circulating BobCoins) to the market in a highly controlled manner. Combined with 250 million BobCoins sold through the STO-Cap, an estimated 50% of all BobCoins will be in circulation. The BobCoins purchased through the STO-Cap will be defrosted in approximately 12 months. This prevents an overabundance of supply when marketing the targeted 200–250 million fresh BobCoins.
Bob Ultee, What was the path you/your company took to get to where you are today?
BoB Eco’s fundamentals started in 2017 when we began providing small loans to individuals across emerging markets. Employment creation is our priority. We offer asset finance across emerging markets to stimulate human potential. We challenge the status quo and provide under-served people a frictionless opportunity to create a stable income and live life to the fullest.
Our motto is: Access equals opportunity! We went on a mission with a far-reaching impact.
The idea was simple—use technology, asset finance, and a customer-centric model to enable informal sector entrepreneurs to grow their economic trajectory dramatically, thereby creating over 200,000 jobs. From value-added services to financing to new opportunities, we are building a long-term ecosystem for Micro entrepreneurs to grow and thrive with us as their partners. The social impact we have made is massive. Benefits of access to our low-interest asset financing include:
1) Enabling entrepreneurs to start or expand their micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
2) Savings help families build assets; they can finance school fees, improve homes (e.g., install power or running water), and achieve goals.
We soon recorded month-on-month growth of more than 30% in loan requests and disbursement by providing credit for income-generating assets.
Bob Ultee, Why did you start (or want to be the head of) this company?
Not only is Bob Eco a company that has a fantastic business concept, but the social impact we have on rural (and overall less developed) communities is enormous. This corresponds to my belief to give opportunities to people all over the planet.
Bob Ultee, What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We experienced that over 94.3% of all loan requests in African countries were in use for taxi vehicle financing, where lies the issue. We were helping to move people out of extreme poverty by majorly threatening human and environmental health. We actively promoted a big source of carbon emissions: ubiquitous fuel-powered motorcycles. These CO2-spewing two-wheelers are one of the huge obstacles to decarbonization.
An estimated 30 million motorcycle taxis operate in African countries, with some driving up to 10 hours a day, often covering hundreds of kilometers daily. Bob Eco is pioneering a switch to electric and has established a goal that almost all African motorcycles will be electric over the next ten years.
Motorcycles are more than half of all vehicles present in Africa. Their simple engines lack the costly emission-reduction technology that modern cars have. Furthermore, they are being used for over 100 kilometers per day—that’s a lot of pollution! In most of the African countries, riders spend more in a year on petrol compared to the cost of a new motorcycle. Bob Eco provides an alternative in a similar style as their current motorcycle that costs less to buy, less power, and less to maintain.
Bob Eco provides its electric motorcycles to local people on a lease-to-own basis. Hence, people can own the Bob electric motorcycle after a maximum term of 30 months. Training, medical and life insurance, along with high-quality safety gear, are all incorporated, and Bob’s staff actively support clients to reach their respective goals.
We offer the Bob users the world’s first mass-market electric vehicle that costs less to acquire, maintain, and operates than a fuel vehicle. On average, motorcycle taxi riders spend USD 4.40 daily on fuel and make an average daily profit of only USD 1.50, which they take home to their families every day.
 Bob Eco riders save on average USD 4.40 on fuel a day, which makes them earn almost 4x as much as a petrol motorcycle taxi.”
Years of work have identified the correct market, designing the business model alongside our users to acquire the perfect fit. We ensure our electric motorcycle is the obvious choice for our customers by putting serious amounts of money back into the pockets of low-income riders and their families.
Give us one word that describes you the best.
Pioneer
 What makes you excited about Mondays?
Every weekend I take long rests, so I’m fully rested every Monday and get up early in the morning looking out for a new week with new opportunities and new problems to solve. Monday is the day we do a group meeting where I give direction to everyone on what is expected this week. After that, I try to do as many meetings and catch-ups with partners, investors, and stakeholders, so we can all set our priorities straight this week! What excites me most about Monday is that I can get peace of mind to know that everyone is on a similar page, everyone knows his/her targets, and we’re all going forward together!
Bob Ultee, What do you value most about your culture and vision?
Oddly, I lost a lot of cultural traits I had from when I was growing up. I was lucky enough to attain the opportunity to be traveling all over the planet. I have visited 80+ countries and stayed for a longer time in multiple countries where you’re forced to adapt to local cultures to do business and make new contacts. Like in Dubai, you meet many interesting people with various backgrounds, and after doing business with some people, you simply pick up some cultural traits you respect. This melting pot makes you strong and individually unique. Of course, that doesn’t mean that one culture is better than another, just that you learn to accept and adapt, and eventually just do what you feel most comfortable with. Of course, many of the ex-pats in Dubai can relate to this.
As I grow older, I must say that traveling still enriches me in terms of knowledge and experience. It enriches me and makes me realize that if some issues occur, being able to look at things from different perspectives helps find solutions. Combining things from different worlds allows you to create a great vision that is also possible to execute.
Tell us about a project that forced you to be innovative and creative.
We started with an STO run by the STO-Cap, which means that the value of the Bob Tokens in the secondary market is linked to the balance sheet and/or its growth, which is not difficult in a scalable model. In principle, the balance sheet will grow without loss incidents, and the scalable business model works. Each Bob Token represents “securities” or assets. There is also only a supply of Bob Tokens from the issuing company, Bob Eco, in our current STO phase. This makes it impossible for the price to become polluted since only one party is setting the price. Everyone who has bought the tokens through the STO-Cap is in a “frost” for 12 months. After 12 months, the “defrost” starts.
Once participants can ‘defrost’ from the STO-Cap, they need to be able to trade their BobCoins on “public” exchanges. From that moment, supply and demand will determine the price! The Coin value is no longer determined by a balance sheet but by the market! Once listed on the primary market, our BobCoin offering will become more comparable to an ICO, yet we will be very different from a regular ICO. Most ICOs do not have (clearly) identifiable assets or a balance sheet, but BobCoin does. That’s why we call our listing an ICO- WA, an ICO with assets, a novelty in the world of crypto.Â
What are the strategies of your company, and how do they stand unique from your competitors?
Our competition focuses on petrol-fuelled motorcycles, where Bob Eco clearly focuses on the future. We offer products to people on terms locals can work with financially, and our products can be compared to the first iPhone launch when the world was still using non-smartphones. We have enormous production capabilities, where we see that most of the local competitors that have been popping up in various countries either produce local products that are inferior to ours but cheaper to produce to overlap the financing gap.
What are the key values that helped you overcome the roadblocks/challenges in your career?
Tell us something about your memorable incident in your leadership?
It is quite simple and classical; as an entrepreneur, there is only one rule “never give up.” In never giving up, always force yourself to accomplish what you have in mind and never take no for an answer. Some things are challenging, but nothing is impossible. The most memorable moment I experienced very heavily during difficult times is how valuable good business relations are. People will show their true faces in those times, so you know who will have your back.
How do you see the company changing in two years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?
We will grow massively, that is for sure. With an average expected “organic” growth of 30%, it is hard to maintain every romantic side today. Our beneficiaries may expect a large jump in bringing the organization to an even higher level in number and culture!. We are currently speaking to a leading head-hunter that scans markets in leading large firms and multinationals. It is key for the growth and the trust to gather the best possible people on all levels. My function and my companions’ roles will change enormously from daily business to even more strategic operations and being “the face and voice.”. I must say that every phase in the development of a company has its charms. We all look forward to the future, as we know that we have been in all the right spots at all the right times!
 Where is your leadership going? What benefits do your clients get from your company in this competitive world?
We notice that people are getting used to using electric vehicles in a region where this is highly unusual, but everyone that has once tried an Electric motorcycle stays committed. This is due to the impact they have on the environment and the financial benefits, the safety features, the savings on repair costs, the convenience of swapping a battery, and the myriad of other small benefits they get from Bob Eco.
 What are the services/solutions or products offered by your company at par with the current industry standards? Tell us something about your upcoming products or services?
 REGARDING OPERATIONS
Bob Eco’s flagship and focus Electric Vehicle is the Model X. This motorcycle is the world’s first premium taxi or ride-sharing motorcycle built from the ground up as an electric two-wheeler. It has been designed and engineered meticulously to elevate public expectations of what a taxi or ride-sharing motorcycle should be. At the heart of Model X is Bob Eco’s proven powertrain, delivering both unprecedented range and a thrilling riding experience. As an ultimate strategic motorcycle developed for emerging markets, Model X is a next-generation basic street model created based on thorough local surveys to incorporate CRYdesign aspects which take into account the traffic environments and commercial applications in many countries.
Model X is already an enormous success, but with all the time and money we spend on research and development, the product is improving every day.
REGARDING THE BOBCOIN
Once listed on the primary market, our BobCoin offering will become more comparable to an ICO, yet we will be very different from a regular ICO. Most ICOs do not have (clearly) identifiable assets or a balance sheet, but BobCoin does. That’s why we call our listing an ICO-WA, an ICO with assets, a novelty in the world of crypto.
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