Bike courier company Cargo Velo is acquiring its Antwerp-based competitor, De Fietskoerier. Together, they will form Belgium’s largest bike courier company, with around 50 couriers and an expected turnover of more than one million euros.
Former politician Willem-Frederik Schiltz, who once led the Open Vld party in Antwerp, has been the CEO of Cargo Velo since 2025; the company recently announced a capital increase of 1 million euros. The De Fietskoerier brand will eventually be phased out. Cargo Velo will take on all of the company’s couriers.
30% faster than a delivery van
According to Schiltz and Sim Coddé, the manager of De Fietskoerier, the bicycle is by far the most efficient mode of transportation in urban environments. They cite a study by the Belgian Cycle Logistics Federation showing that a bicycle courier in the city arrives at their destination an average of 30% faster than a delivery van.
De Fietskoerier was founded 27 years ago and specializes, among other things, in urgent deliveries and medical transport in and around Antwerp. Cargo Velo was founded 14 years ago in Ghent and is now also active in Brussels and Antwerp. It focuses on urban distribution to and from the city from hubs on the city outskirts.
Founders will remain on board
The total distance cycled by both companies currently exceeds 250,000 km per year, or more than 6 times around the Earth.
Sim Coddé and Stijn Van Hofstraeten, who have been at the helm of De Fietskoerier since 2019, will remain co-shareholders of Cargo Velo. Stijn will continue to work as a courier in Antwerp; Sim will oversee the integration behind the scenes in the coming months.
Still room for growth
According to the Belgian Cycle Logistics Federation, more than 5 million packages were delivered by bicycle couriers in Belgium in 2024, 70% more than the previous year. Cargo Velocity estimates the potential at 7 million packages.
By comparison, Post, the company with the largest number of carrier bikes and trailers in Belgium, likely delivers somewhere between 600,000 and 650,000 packages per day in 2024, including all transport vehicles.
