Aromeiazero

What Aromeiazero does

Instituto Aromeiazero is a Brazilian nonprofit civil society organization founded in 2011 and headquartered on Avenida Paulista in São Paulo. It operates a portfolio of bicycle-based social programs targeting children, unemployed and underemployed adults, peripheral urban communities, municipal governments, and corporate sponsors across five Brazilian macroregions. The organization's operating model treats the bicycle as an integrated social technology spanning five intervention areas: education (Rodinha Zero for children aged 4–11), economic empowerment (Viver de Bike mechanics and entrepreneurship course, Bikeatona innovation marathons, Delivery Justo for cycle couriers), urban culture (Bike Arte Brasil and Ciclo Voador festivals), social innovation funding (Bikeatona seed grants), and urban infrastructure advocacy (Mais Bicicletários, Pedala Macaé parliamentary work). Its Viver de Bike methodology is certified as a Social Technology by the Fundação Banco do Brasil and integrated into the Rede de Tecnologias Sociais.

The organization delivers all programs free of charge to beneficiaries and does not sell products or services commercially. Revenue is generated through four channels: (1) institutional corporate patronage — primarily Itaú Unibanco since 2014, with Bloomberg as a recurring partner since 2013; (2) Brazilian tax incentive legislation (Lei de Incentivo ao Esporte from the Ministry of Sports and Lei de Incentivo à Cultura from the Ministry of Culture), accessed via approved projects sponsored by a diversified roster of corporate partners; (3) corporate volunteering and team-building services such as Desafio 60; and (4) individual donations and bicycle donations through the Bike Parada Não Rola campaign. Distribution is primarily community-led and event-driven, delivered directly through public schools, municipal partnerships, community centers, and a 100% online format for Viver de Bike and the Rodinha Zero 'Jornada para Multiplicadores.' The organization is small in headcount (9 employees) but operates a large programmatic footprint (173 projects since 2011, 58,000+ festival attendees, 7,100+ children taught to ride, 5,301 bicycles repaired), relying heavily on partner schools, local coordinators, and corporate volunteer mobilization.

Strategic positioning is anchored on a published methodology library, certified replicability, and recurring international visibility (Velo-city Conference participation since 2023). Recognition includes consecutive placement in Brazil's 100 Best NGOs ranking (2024, 2025), 3rd place in the Fomento à Cultura da Bicicleta category of the Prêmio Bicicleta Brasil 2024, and Selo Brasil (2022). The leadership team comprises six named directors and coordinators including Murilo Casagrande (Director of Development), Cadu Ronca (Director), Carol Pires (Project Coordinator), Kéroly Gritti (Coordinator, Avança na Mecânica), Juliana DeCastro (Resource Development Assistant), and Rogério Rai (Project Coordinator).

Name

Aromeiazero

Legal name

Instituto Aromeiazero

Website

https://aromeiazero.org.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Instituto Aromeiazero is a São Paulo-based Brazilian nonprofit that uses the bicycle as an integrated social technology to deliver free education, entrepreneurship training, cultural festivals, and mobility advocacy programs to children, low-income adults, and peripheral communities across Brazil.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Social Services / Community Cycling Programs

NAICS

Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAAAOAD

School, University & NGO Outdoor Programs (Curriculum/Program Delivery)

Travel & Hospitality/Adventure, Amusement Parks & Ecotourism/Educational Adventure Programs (Outdoor Education, Skill Development)

SECONDARYTHAJABAF

Cycling, Mountain Biking & E-bike Adventures

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Adventure & Outdoor Experiences (Hiking, Rafting, Zipline, Safaris)

SECONDARYEDALAKAE

Bicycle Programs & Bike Share (Parking, Repair, Rentals)

Education/Student Services & Campus Operations/Transportation, Parking & Mobility Services

SECONDARYCRAMAHAJ

Bike Rental, Demo & Tour Operators (Retail-Adjacent)

Consumer Products & Retail/Sporting Goods & Outdoor Retail/Cycling & Bike Retail

Keywords

• Social bicycle programs
• Cycling education initiatives
• Bicycle mechanics training
• Community cycling festivals
• Urban mobility advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

São Paulo

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Corporate Institutional Sponsorship: The organization is primarily funded through institutional sponsorships from large corporations (e.g., Itaú Unibanco as institutional patron, Bloomberg, Ocyan, Foresea, EDP, Shimano, Rede/Itaú Unibanco, Smurfit Westrock, Ticket Log). These sponsorships fund specific projects and programs.
2. Tax Incentive Laws (Leis de Incentivo): A significant portion of activities are funded via Brazilian tax incentive legislation — Lei de Incentivo ao Esporte (Ministry of Sports) and Lei de Incentivo à Cultura (Ministry of Culture) — allowing companies to redirect a portion of taxes to approved social projects.
3. Individual Donations: The organization accepts recurring donations and one-time bike donations from individuals through its website. The 'Bike Parada Não Rola' campaign collects unused bicycles from residential buildings for restoration and reuse in training programs.
4. Volunteering / Corporate Team Building Services: Corporate volunteering programs such as 'Desafio 60' (teams assemble 60 bikes in 60 minutes) are organized for companies. Companies like Bloomberg, Itaú Unibanco, Embraer, Ipiranga, REPSOL participate, with the organization facilitating team-building outcomes while donating bikes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Instituto Aromeiazero is a Brazilian nonprofit social organization that uses the bicycle as an integrated tool to deliver free social, educational, and cultural programs. It operates a portfolio of community programs including children's cycling education (Rodinha Zero), mechanics and entrepreneurship training (Viver de Bike), free public festivals (Bike Arte Brasil, Ciclo Voador), corporate volunteering (Desafio 60), social innovation marathons (Bikeatona), bicycle infrastructure advocacy (Mais Bicicletários), and bicycle recovery campaigns (Bike Parada Não Rola). All programs are offered free of charge to beneficiaries in vulnerable Brazilian communities.

Product overview

Instituto Aromeiazero is a nonprofit social organization (not a technology company) that operates a portfolio of bicycle-based social programs. The organization functions as a platform of interconnected initiatives rather than a single product. The core offerings include: Bike Arte Brasil (cultural festivals promoting cycling and urban art), Viver de Bike (free entrepreneurship and mechanics courses), Rodinha Zero (children's cycling education), Pedala Macaé (urban mobility programs), Bikeatona (social innovation marathons), Mais Bicicletários (bike parking advocacy), Ciclo Voador (cultural festivals), Desafio 60 (corporate volunteering), Delivery Justo (delivery worker training), GRAU Fortaleza (community bike garage), and Bike Parada Não Rola (bike donation campaigns). These programs work together to promote cycling as a tool for social inclusion, economic empowerment, and urban transformation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bike Arte Brasil Free cultural festival promoting urban art, cycling culture, and public space occupation through music, theater, graffiti, cycling workshops, and community activities across multiple Brazilian cities. Aimed at residents of peripheral and vulnerable urban communities.
• Viver de Bike Free 30-hour course in bicycle mechanics and entrepreneurship that trains participants in bicycle repair, business skills, and financial management; graduates receive a refurbished bicycle, helmet, lock, certificate, and printed workbook. Targeted at unemployed and underemployed adults in vulnerable Brazilian communities.
• Rodinha Zero School-based cycling education program that teaches children aged 4-11 to ride bicycles without training wheels, promoting motor, cognitive, and affective development. Delivered in partnership with municipal Secretariats of Education in public schools.
• Pedala Macaé Comprehensive urban mobility program in Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, that includes bike donations, entrepreneurship training, children's cycling education, and urban cycling infrastructure advocacy (including installation of 900 paraciclos and creation of a Bicycle Parliamentary Front).
• Bikeatona Social innovation marathon providing mentorship and financial support (seed funding) to ideas, projects, and businesses that use bicycles to strengthen low-income territories in Brazil.
• Mais Bicicletários

Quantifiable outcome

• 7,100+ children learned to ride bicycles; 5,109 people trained in mechanics and entrepreneurship; 58,000+ festival attendees; 5,301 bicycles repaired; 173 projects since 2011
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ShimanocoreGTM or Marketing PartnerShimano sponsors multiple Bike Arte Brasil festival editions and the Ciclo Voador festival in Recife, contributing to cycling culture promotion and event logistics. The partnership positions Shimano alongside active mobility social initiatives.
• European Cyclists' Federation (ECF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerECF, the European Cyclists' Federation, supported the Instituto Aromeiazero's participation in Velo-city Conference 2026 in Rimini, alongside Novo Nordisk.
• ViaMobilidademinorStrategic or Co-development PartnerViaMobilidade partnered with Aromeiazero to provide a rest station for delivery cyclists at Estação Eucaliptos (Line 5-Lilás metro) and co-organized the Bike Spa free maintenance event. The station includes rest area, phone charging, bathrooms, and a meal space.
• SEBRAEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSEBRAE provided advisory services on business formalization, costs, and MEI (individual microentrepreneur) registration during the Dia C de Ciclologística event, supporting cycle couriers in formalizing their businesses.
• Impacta Mais 2026minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAromeiazero established a partnership with Impacta Mais 2026, one of Brazil's main impact economy forums (May 20–21), receiving a 20% discount coupon code (PARCERIA-AROMEIAZERO) for participant registrations.

Scale indicators20 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• ITDP Brasil: Brazilian arm of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy; works on sustainable urban mobility including cycling infrastructure, overlapping with Aromeiazero's Mais Bicicletários advocacy and Pedala Macaé infrastructure work.
• World Bicycle Relief: Global nonprofit that distributes bicycles and trains mechanics in developing regions, with a mission structurally parallel to Aromeiazero's Viver de Bike and Bike Parada Não Rola programs, but at significantly larger international scale.
• WRI Brasil: Brazilian arm of the World Resources Institute; conducts urban mobility and active transport research/policy work that overlaps with Aromeiazero's Mais Bicicletários publications and bicycle infrastructure advocacy.

Direct peers

• Ciclocidade: São Paulo-based association for urban cycling mobility; Aromeiazero lists Ciclocidade as an allied organization. Both advocate for cycling infrastructure and culture in Brazilian cities.
• União de Ciclistas do Brasil (UCB): National Brazilian cycling advocacy organization listed as an Aromeiazero ally; comparable as a national-level bicycle civil society movement promoting cycling rights and culture.
• Vá de Bike: Long-running Brazilian cycling advocacy blog and community; comparable as a national bicycle culture and mobility-promotion platform with strong influence in Brazilian cycling discourse.
• Bike Anjo: Brazilian cycling-focused nonprofit that promotes bicycle use through volunteer-based education and community rides, sharing Aromeiazero's bicycle-as-social-tool mission in Brazilian peripheral communities.
• Pedale-se: Brazilian cycling-education and community-mobility NGO; one of Aromeiazero's coordinators (Rogério Rai) has worked there, indicating direct methodological and mission overlap in bicycle-based social development.

Emerging players

• MobiLatam / MobiliCidades: LATAM-focused active mobility and street transformation network; adjacent peer working on similar themes of cycling, pedestrian, and micromobility inclusion in Latin American cities.

Regional players

• European Cyclists' Federation (ECF): European umbrella cycling NGO that has co-supported Aromeiazero's participation at Velo-city 2026; comparable as a continental cycling advocacy organization, but geographically focused on Europe.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aromeiazero
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/Aromeiazero
• Facebookfacebook.com/Aromeiazero
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/instituto-aromeiazero
• Instagraminstagram.com/aromeiazero

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aromeiazero