Electric handbike production supporting communities, mobility, and jobs

MATT Mobility makes an electric handbike attachment for manual wheelchairs, assembled locally from bicycle parts. It increases independence, maps accessible places via Club2G, creates jobs and tours, and has grown across Colombia with international pilots.

MATT Movilidad is a social business from Colombia creating affordable, locally assembled electric hand bikes that convert manual wheelchairs into motorized vehicles. The MATT models combine hardware with a growing peer-led community, fostering mobility, employment, and advocacy among users. Beyond devices, MATT offers inclusive city tours and a crowd-sourced accessibility map. From 2020 to 2025, MATT reached over 165 users, and over 40 jobs have been created in the delivery and tourism sectors.

Problems Targeted

Wheelchair users face limited affordable mobility, inaccessible public spaces, and social exclusion in cities of the Global South.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

The MATT Mobility System is an electric hand bike attachment that fits onto most manual wheelchairs, providing increased independence and safety for users, and allowing for the navigation of steep or uneven urban environments. Each device is assembled locally from standard bicycle components, making it both low-cost and easily repairable. Beyond a mobility device, MATT fosters an inclusive ecosystem through a vivid community, job creation, and a digital platform that maps accessible urban spaces. The organization also trains wheelchair users to lead MATT Experiences, that is, guided tours that raise disability awareness and create income for users as local ambassadors. Through the Club2G digital platform, users map accessible and inaccessible city locations in real time, providing peer-to-peer support and helping authorities prioritize improvements. The MATT Mobility System has expanded within Colombia from Medellín to Bogotá, with pilots in Nairobi, Kenya, and product adoption in the UK. From 2020 to 2024, 165 users have travelled more than 900,000 km independently, and 40+ jobs have been created in delivery and tourism. Additionally, 43 devices have been rented out, mainly for accessible tourism, technology testing processes, and pilot programmes.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

Funding is primarily from sales and rentals of hand bikes (85 percent), with the rest from service revenues (city tours, delivery), small grants, and community partnerships. MATT aims to expand to three more countries by 2030 using local distribution, with plans to diversify to rural models and mass production. (#ZeroCall26)

Pictures