As part of our 2024-26 Global Strategy, World Bicycle Relief aims to expand and improve bicycle ecosystems, partner to scale impact, shift outcomes and expand geographies, and ensure bicycles are part of the global development and community resilience conversation – grow, partner and influence. 

As we close out 2024, we are well on our way to executing this strategy toward our goal of mobilizing 1.5 million new people through the Power of Bicycles.  

Grow: After distributing 62,276 Buffalo Bicycles in 2024, we recently hit a milestone of 850,000 bicycles, impacting the lives of more than 4 million people. And we recently expanded to Tanzania, opening an assembly facility there. Our team also launched our latest innovation – the Buffalo Bicycle Utility S2! With a multi-speed drivetrain, riders can travel farther with less effort than before. 

Partner: We’re bringing our expertise to Bicycles for Growth (BFG), an initiative funded by USAID, to increase mobility in rural and peri-urban areas by promoting access to affordable, durable bicycles. 

Influence: We released a groundbreaking study in partnership with IDinsight that found measurable improvements in economic activity, social mobility, and access to essential services for bicycle recipients.

For our 5th annual Pedal to Empower, more than 54,000 participants from around the world came together to mobilize 5,200+ women and girls with life-changing bicycles. A special thank you to our friends Nino Schurter and the SCOTT MTB Racing team, Marley Blonsky, Eliot Jackson, Juan Pedro Lopez and many others, as well as our partners at Quad Lock, Intrepid Foundation, Giant Group, Johnson & Johnson, Backroads, Randstad, Deloitte, SRAM, and more!

Across the globe, our partners are helping us generate deeper impact in the areas where we work and support more communities moving forward with life-changing bicycles.

• Longtime partners Giant Group received our Trailblazer Award for their dedicated commitment to our work and their role in the development of the Buffalo Bicycle.
• This year marked citizenM’s 6th year of partnership with World Bicycle Relief, which has brought more than €3.5 million for communities across Malawi. Thanks to their latest funding, another €1.8 million will go toward another 7,000+ bicycles in the region.
• Our friends at Sterne Kessler not only provided pro-bono legal services and intellectual property expertise, but also served as presenting sponsor of our Communities on the Move benefit in Chicago.
• Since 2017, OneUp Components has generously contributed to World Bicycle Relief through their 1% giveback program. Their support has led to 750 Buffalo Bicycles and more than 3,700 people mobilized.
• We partnered with ScotiaGBS Colombia and Spirit Airlines in Colombia to put more bikes in the hands of students.
• The long-standing support from ZF hilft e.V. has sustainably strengthened and advanced our program work in Zimbabwe.
• Randstad has been an invaluable partner of World Bicycle Relief for years, enabling us to make great strides and pursue our mission with determination.

Our  community around the globe used their talents to fundraise for World Bicycle Relief and support the Power of Bicycles.

• Professional cyclists Nino Schurter and Sebastian Fini teamed up for the Cape Epic mountain bike ride, creating Team World Bicycle Relief and raising more than €88,000 for the Power of Bicycles with the raffling of their bikes. 
• In May, members of several European Rotary clubs cycled from Paderborn to Prague in support of World Bicycle Relief. They exceeded their goal by over EUR 11,000 and raised more than EUR 56,000!
• Chris Carter circumnavigated the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on bike – 1,200 miles! – with a goal of raising enough to provide 10 bicycles. Chris is also part of Team WBR Michigan, which has raised nearly $50,000.
• Laura Möller and Antonia Staucke biked across 15 countries and 2 continents, riding from the southernmost tip of Argentina to Anchorage, Alaska – all while fundraising to support those in need of life-changing bicycles. 
• Stephan Hochstein and Andreas Klug celebrated the 30th anniversary of their salon in Pforzheim, Germany, by taking a bike-packing trip and cutting hair at eight salons across the country. Their charity cut and cycle tour raised more than EUR 16,000 for the Power of Bicycles. 
• The 11th annual Techbikers ride saw 40 cyclists riding 450 km between Berlin and Hamburg in Germany – and raised over EUR 100,000 to change lives with bicycles. 

We love when our partners and supporters combine impact and a little bit of fun with events meant to highlight the vital role of bicycles.

• The 6th annual 11 Gran Fondo in Canada carried forward its incredible legacy, driving meaningful change and raising funds to contribute more than 3,500 Buffalo Bicycles around the world.
• World Bicycle Relief’s short film “Building the Buffalo” was selected for this year’s Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride, Colo., as well as Big Bike Film Night, an acclaimed international cycling film festival touring Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Scotland. Several partners, including Sterne Kessler, Trek Travel and Backroads also screened the film.
• The 16th annual Ride Like King event, inspired by Giant Group founder King Liu, drew close to 10,000 participants from all around the world and resulted in 600 Buffalo Bicycles for communities in need.
• In August, World Bicycle Relief hosted its inaugural Winter Park Ride and Dine Event at Moose Run Cabin, Colo., generously hosted by Trent Newcomer and Kara Keesling. The event combined mountain biking with a screening of the “Building the Buffalo” film.
• World Bicycle Relief team members had opportunities to speak to the future of bicycle mobility at the Velo-City Conference in Belgium and the Cycling Research Board annual meeting in Zurich.
• The Intrepid Foundation and Quad Lock partnered to raise funds for World Bicycle Relief through a global Buffalo Ride event, raising more than $67,000 AUD with over 130 riders taking part from 15 countries.

• Our brand new Buffalo Bicycle Utility S2 won the Eurobike Gold Award for product development, celebrating excellence in design and innovation within the cycling industry. 
• We went viral! Seth’s Bike Hacks reviewed our Buffalo Bicycle for his Berm Peak community and raised more than $25,000 with its YouTube fundraiser.

Bicycle mobility isn’t just about getting from one place to another. For the communities we serve, it’s a bridge to independence, opportunity, and finding joy amidst life’s challenges. 

Help us spread the Bicycle Joy by empowering 11,000 more people around the world with bicycles by Dec. 31st!