Helsinki, Finland & Paris, France — Vapaus Group, Europe's forerunner known for its bike-leasing platform, announces the integration of Azfalte, France's leading corporate cycling company serving 250 employer clients. This milestone accelerates Vapaus Group's international growth and unlocks Europe's biggest market opportunity, with the ambition to put more than one million employees on bikes across the continent in the coming years.
France: Europe's strongest growth potential
Germany has already made corporate cycling a mainstream employee benefit, with millions of bikes in daily use. France is now emerging as the market with the strongest growth potential in Europe, driven by three key factors:
60% of urban car trips are under 5 km – representing a massive opportunity for cycling.
Supportive regulatory and fiscal policies are accelerating adoption.
Employers and local authorities are leading rapid change in mobility habits.
By integrating Azfalte, a pioneer that has built the foundations of corporate cycling in France with strong local presence and a proven service model, Vapaus Group positions itself at the heart of this transformation.
Building the European benchmark
Vapaus Group has already revolutionized the employee bike benefit market in Nordics with a fully automated platform covering payroll, invoicing, financing, logistics, and insurance. Azfalte will continue to operate under its own brand, adding its French operational expertise and territorial anchoring to the Group. Together, they aim to create the European benchmark for corporate cycling: scalable, seamless, sustainable, and tailored to local ecosystems.
"Europe is ready for a new standard in corporate cycling. By entering France, the continent's most dynamic growth market, through Azfalte, we fast-track our joint mission to make cycling the daily choice of millions of employees. The word Vapaus means freedom and there is no freer feeling than riding your bicycle through the city. We want more people to experience this," says Mikko Ampuja, Founder and CEO of Vapaus.
"We empower companies with a real superpower: cutting the costs and carbon of their mobility, boosting employee health and wellbeing, and energizing local communities through jobs and regional networks. Together with Vapaus Group, we are scaling up to make cycling not just a daily reflex, but a genuine engine of the transition," adds Jean-François Dhinaux, Founder and CEO of Azfalte.
Backed by strong European investors
The paths of Vapaus and Azfalte first crossed through the European Startup Prize for Mobility (EUSP) — a prize co-founded by Dhinaux before creating Azfalte, and later won by Vapaus in 2023. In other words, the EUSP events brought the two companies together and marked the beginning of their collaboration. The companies share the same values and vision, as well as personal ties, making this alliance a natural fit. The team is also supported by Shift4Good, a french impact fund dedicated to decarbonizing transportation, and in addition Vapaus has French employees and French leadership representation, making the step into France both logical and organic.
"This merger is fully aligned with Shift4Good's mission: to support the emergence of European and international leaders driving the sustainable transition. By joining forces, Azfalte and Vapaus respond to the growing demand from employers and local governments for concrete mobility solutions, positioning the new group as a financial and operational force to drive real change," summarizes Yann Marteil, Co-founder of Shift4Good. Marteil brings extensive experience in new mobility and has played a key role, for example, in the development of city bike systems in both Paris and Helsinki.
"By teaming up, we will be a stronger player in the European market, with a shared mission to create one million new cyclists," continues Ampuja. "We don't intend to merge two companies overnight. Instead, we will take the necessary time to shape our joint business, continuously learn from each other, and leverage the best models, processes, and technologies. Our mission is the same: to revolutionise mobility and make cycling the primary mode of transport for more and more people."
By combining the strengths of two pioneering companies, Vapaus and Azfalte are creating a new, stronger European player – one with the ability to grow cycling adoption, finance bicycles, and serve customers in the best and easiest possible way across the markets.
About Vapaus Group
Vapaus Group is a forerunner in sustainable mobility services and has been at the forefront of the employee bicycle benefit sector since late 2020. The company's scalable business model is reflected in its growth from €4.5 million in revenue in 2021 to an impressive €34.8 million in 2024. Vapaus has been listed among Finland's fastest-growing companies and, in autumn 2023, won the prestigious European Startup Prize for Mobility out of more than 700 European companies.
Vapaus has successfully automated the employee bicycle process through its technology platform, covering payroll, invoicing, logistics, insurance, and financing. The company is focused on international expansion and, before entering France, operated in both Finland and Sweden. Vapaus invests heavily in app development and is continuously evolving its financing model to further improve the customer experience.
vapaus.io
About AZFALTE
Founded in 2020 and based in Lille, AZFALTE is a mission-driven company and a pioneer of corporate cycling in France. Its purpose: enabling millions of employees to ride every day — for the joy of cycling, for better health and stronger purchasing power, to ease congestion in cities, and to reduce the carbon footprint of daily commutes.
With a simple and comprehensive platform, AZFALTE makes life easier for employers: optimized financing, tailored bikes, insurance, maintenance, assistance, training, and carbon tracking.
In just five years, more than 200 companies — from SMEs to major groups such as Cofidis Group, Crédit Agricole, Orange, Valeo, and Equans — have chosen AZFALTE to embed cycling into their mobility strategy. Since September 2025, AZFALTE has been part of VAPAUS Group, the European specialist in corporate cycling, backed by the French impact fund Shift4Good.
azfalte.com
