GoBanyo gemeinnützige GmbH

What GoBanyo gemeinnützige GmbH does

GoBanyo gemeinnützige GmbH is a Hamburg-based non-profit organization founded in December 2018 that operates a mobile shower bus (Duschbus) providing free sanitation services to people experiencing homelessness in Hamburg, Germany. The organization's core offering is a converted former Hamburger Hochbahn city bus equipped with shower facilities, operating five days per week at fixed locations across the city. Since regular operations began in December 2019, GoBanyo has cumulatively delivered over 29,000 shower and related hygiene service interactions, supplemented historically by the Duschdorf container-based shower facility (December 2020 to October 2022), the Sonnenschein Café pop-up for people in poverty, and ancillary services including wound care and medical referrals through partnerships with DRK and Caritas.

Beyond direct service delivery, GoBanyo has developed educational products including the UNHOME VR experience (a 20-minute virtual reality simulation of street survival, launched October 2025) and the 'How (not) to help' publication addressing racism in homelessness assistance (March 2023). The organization's technology investments focus on operational infrastructure and awareness content rather than software platforms; there is no AI/ML component. Operational know-how in mobile sanitation conversion and volunteer coordination is proprietary and has been exported to other cities (Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Cape Town).

GoBanyo's revenue model is entirely donation-dependent. Revenue streams comprise individual donations, recurring shower sponsorships (€15/€50/€100 monthly, quarterly, or annual tiers), corporate product partnerships such as the Brooklyn Soap Company co-branded shower gel and the 2020-2022 The Right to Shower deal, episodic crowdfunding campaigns (€168,000 raised in May 2019 from 3,500+ contributors), and co-financing from public sources such as Hamburg-Mitte district and foundations including Viva con Agua Stiftung. The organization has 10 employees, a 500+ volunteer base, operates from a single Hamburg headquarters, and is co-led by original founders Dominik Bloh, Gülay Ulaş, and Chris Poelmann with Sebastian Krüger as current legal representative.

Name

GoBanyo gemeinnützige GmbH

Legal name

GoBanyo gGmbH

Website

https://gobanyo.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

GoBanyo gemeinnützige GmbH is a Hamburg-based non-profit operating a mobile shower bus that provides free sanitation and hygiene services to people experiencing homelessness in Hamburg, funded through donations, recurring sponsorships, corporate partnerships, and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Homeless Sanitation and Social Services

NAICS

Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) (BPAGABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) Organizations (HLAJAKAI)

Keywords

• Mobile shower services
• Homeless sanitation programs
• Mobile hygiene units
• Nonprofit shower bus
• Hygiene outreach services

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Sponsorships: Primary revenue stream from individual donations, shower sponsorships (monthly recurring donations), and general fundraising. The organization relies entirely on donations to operate.
2. Crowdfunding: Periodic crowdfunding campaigns for specific projects (e.g., bus conversion, second bus). Initial crowdfunding in May 2019 raised €168,000.
3. Product Partnerships: Revenue from sale of co-branded products (e.g., Brooklyn Soap Company shower gel, The Right to Shower soap), where proceeds go to GoBanyo.
4. Government/Institutional Grants: Co-financing from districts (e.g., Hamburg-Mitte district funded Duschdorf project for 9 months). Also supported by foundations like Viva con Agua.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

GoBanyo operates a converted mobile shower bus (Duschbus) that provides free showers, laundry, and hygiene products to people experiencing homelessness in Hamburg, Germany, five days per week. The organization supplements its core hygiene service with a container-based shower village (Duschdorf), educational programs including the UNHOME VR experience, the weekly Sonnenschein Café pop-up, school outreach, and awareness campaigns — all delivered free of charge to beneficiaries and funded through donations and partnerships.

Product overview

GoBanyo operates a mobile shower bus as its core offering, providing hygiene facilities for people experiencing homelessness in Hamburg. The organization supplements this with shower sponsorships (recurring donations), the Sonnenschein Café community program, educational initiatives including the UNHOME VR experience and publications on anti-racist homelessness assistance, school outreach programs, a collaborative shower gel product, and the 'Voices' awareness project. The organization functions as a non-profit service provider rather than a software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GoBanyo Shower Bus (Duschbus) A converted former Hamburger Hochbahn city bus outfitted with shower facilities, providing free mobile showers, laundry, hygiene products, and coffee to people experiencing homelessness at fixed locations in Hamburg five days per week year-round.
• Duschpatenschaft (Shower Sponsorship) A recurring donation program enabling supporters to sponsor showers at €15, €50, or €100 per month, quarter, or year, providing financial stability to fund regular shower operations for beneficiaries.
• Sonnenschein Café A weekly pop-up community café in Hamburg offering free homemade cakes, sandwiches, and specialty coffee to people experiencing homelessness and poverty, organized and accounted for by GoBanyo since November 2023.
• UNHOME VR Experience A 20-minute virtual reality experience simulating survival on the streets across various times of day, seasons, locations, and situations related to homelessness, used in schools, universities, and events for awareness raising.
• How (not) to help Publication An educational publication developed in collaboration with MOSAIQ e.V. addressing paternalism and racism in homelessness assistance, available in German in both online and print form.
• Schulbriefe (School Letters) A school education program in which GoBanyo staff conduct workshops and classroom presentations about homelessness, including visits to the Sonnenschein Café and letter-writing exercises to politicians.
• GoBanyo Shower Gel (Brooklyn Soap Company Partnership) A co-branded shower gel developed with Brooklyn Soap Company Hamburg, with sales proceeds supporting GoBanyo's operations and raising awareness for the 'Washing is Dignity' mission.
• Stimmen der Straße (Voices) An awareness project collecting anonymous quotes and messages from shower guests about what they would say to a public audience, raising awareness about the heterogeneity and individuality of people experiencing homelessness.
• Duschdorf (Shower Village) A container-based temporary shower facility with three fully equipped bathroom containers and two storage/recreational containers operated in partnership with Hamburg-Mitte district and FC St. Pauli on Harald-Stender-Platz from 2020 to 2022.
• Duschbus 2 (Second Shower Bus) A second converted Hamburger Hochbahn bus launched in December 2025 to expand mobile shower capacity in Hamburg while the original bus is rehabilitated after six years of continuous operation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 29,000 showers and related services provided since 2019
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and founding.

• Brooklyn Soap CompanycoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 August 2023Hamburg-based company launched joint shower gel product in summer 2023. Proceeds from sales go to GoBanyo's donation account.
• CaritascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2023Caritas health mobile visits the shower bus weekly since April 2023, providing medical care to shower guests.
• MOSAIQ e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2023Educational organization collaborated on publication 'How (not) to help' addressing anti-racism in homelessness assistance.
• Viva con Agua Cape TownminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2022Technical and operational support for Nina Manzi shower bus project in Cape Town, South Africa. Live exchange in summer 2022 included visit to Hamburg.
• SEND e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2022GoBanyo officially joined SEND e.V. in July 2022 to form alliances and collaborations with businesses, welfare, academia, and politics for sustainable economy.
• Hamburg-Mitte district and FC St. PaulicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2020Partnership to establish Duschdorf (Shower Village) with three bathroom containers on Harald-Stender-Platz. District co-financed for nine months.
• DRK (German Red Cross)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2020DRK wound care mobile provided regular assistance to shower guests for approximately six months, offering wound care services on-site.
• BäderlandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2020Municipal swimming pool operator in Hamburg. Four-month partnership during COVID-19 pandemic to operate sanitation facilities when public showers were closed.
• The Right to ShowerminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 2020Shower soap brand with two-year deal providing nationwide proceeds to GoBanyo starting February 2020.
• Hamburger HochbahncoreOthers · 1 June 2019Donated used city bus for conversion to shower bus. Also gifted second bus in December 2024 for five-year anniversary.
• clubkinder e.V.foundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2019Nonprofit organization that co-founded GoBanyo gGmbH in April 2019 alongside Hanseatic Help e.V. and Viva con Agua Stiftung.
• Hanseatic Help e.V.foundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2019Nonprofit organization that co-founded GoBanyo gGmbH in April 2019 alongside clubkinder e.V. and Viva con Agua Stiftung.
• Viva con Agua StiftungfoundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2019Foundation that co-founded GoBanyo gGmbH and continued collaboration, including support for Nina Manzi shower project in Cape Town, South Africa.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lava Mae: US-based nonprofit pioneering mobile shower and hygiene services for people experiencing homelessness, directly comparable in concept (converted vehicles delivering sanitation) and target population to GoBanyo's Duschbus model.
• Viva con Agua Stiftung: German WASH-focused nonprofit that co-founded GoBanyo and replicated its model in Cape Town (Nina Manzi shower bus, launched October 2022). Operates in the same WASH-for-vulnerable-populations category.
• Hanseatic Help e.V. Hamburg-based nonprofit co-founding partner of GoBanyo, providing clothing and essentials to people in need. Operates a similar Hamburg-rooted, volunteer-driven model serving vulnerable populations.

Broad incumbents

• Caritas Deutschland: Germany's largest welfare confederation providing social services including homelessness support, with whom GoBanyo has a partnership (Caritas health mobile visiting the Duschbus weekly since April 2023). Comparable in mission space and target population.
• Berliner Stadtmission: Major Berlin-based social welfare organization providing services for homeless people including washing and shelter facilities. Comparable in mission and target population but operates at much larger scale.
• Diakonie Deutschland: National federation of Protestant social welfare organizations in Germany providing services for homeless and marginalized people, including sanitation facilities. Overlapping beneficiary base and service category.
• Die Arche e.V. German Christian children's aid organization serving disadvantaged children and families, including food programs and basic-needs distribution. Comparable in volunteer-driven basic-needs delivery for vulnerable populations, though focused on children/families rather than unhoused adults.

Emerging players

• WASH United: Berlin-based non-profit focused on WASH advocacy and education, comparable to GoBanyo's awareness-raising and rights-based approach to sanitation. Smaller and more advocacy-oriented than GoBanyo.
• Mobile Shower Coalition (formerly Mobile Wash LA): US network supporting mobile shower and hygiene programs for people experiencing homelessness, directly comparable operating category to GoBanyo. Acts more as a coalition/incubator than a direct operator.

Others

• SEND e.V. German network for sustainable economy alliances (business, welfare, academia, politics) that GoBanyo officially joined in July 2022. Comparable as an ecosystem/coalition organization rather than a direct service peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/gobanyo
• TikToktiktok.com/@gobanyo
• Facebookfacebook.com/gobanyo

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 GoBanyo gemeinnützige GmbH