“How can I easily have access to a car for my weekend trip?”
Over 1 billion vehicles globally sit idle 95% of the time.
And Barbados and the wider Caribbean are no exception to this massive underuse of cars.
Yet there is a glaring lack of options for residents and tourists who actually need a car.
In Bridgetown alone, 700,000 long-stay tourists arrive every year and generally rely on traditional car rental companies. Such an option turns out to be rather pricey, when available at all.
Not to mention the residents – 6,000 university students as well as professionals – who need a car for short business trips, part-time jobs, and more.
The numbers grow to over 32 million tourists and more than 2 million students across the whole Caribbean region.
As a result, there are cars available belonging to private owners and people who need them, but no easy way to connect the two.
An Airbnb of cars to connect car owners to users
Barbados-based firm Altus Regional Consulting Solutions and Italian startup volvero have partnered to address this mobility gap.
Volvero provides the core technology:
Volvero provides a digital platform that allows individuals and businesses to turn their idle vehicles into accessible mobility options: cars, motorcycles, and vans.
An Airbnb for cars of some sort.
Altus Regional Consulting Solutions contributes deep expertise in governance, regulatory compliance, insurance frameworks, and public-private partnerships.
Put simply, the firm ensures the model operates legally and effectively within the Caribbean context.
Indeed, a key aspect of the collaboration is the co-development of a localised insurance and compliance framework.
In many cases, this is the main barrier to launching shared mobility services in new markets, especially in a tourism-heavy and island-based environment.
Through volvero’s solution, underused vehicles can be matched with real-time demand from residents and visitors:
- Residents gain flexible access to vehicles for work, study, and daily mobility needs
- Tourists can access simpler, more cost-effective transport options than traditional rentals for day trips.
- Vehicle owners can generate new income streams through secure, short-term rentals.
- …and finally, reduced need for additional rental fleets, lower congestion, and lower emissions through higher vehicle utilisation rates benefit the local economy and the environment.
Stakeholder mapping and proof of concept: How does the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator help?
- Service n°1: Stakeholder mapping
The “Stakeholder mapping” consists of 5 working sessions focused on:
– Understanding the regulatory environment,
– Mapping relevant insurance partners,
– Defining a clear engagement and implementation roadmap.
The success of a peer-to-peer mobility model depends heavily on regulatory clarity and the ability to integrate with existing insurance and compliance systems.
The Altus Regional x volvero partnership will get a validated stakeholder map and an actionable go-to-market plan, thanks to which they will:
– Approach the right partners with a clear structure,
– Reduce regulatory uncertainty,
– Accelerate platform deployment in Barbados (from years to months).
- Service n°2: PoC design & Prototyping
It is a structured Proof of Concept (PoC) design and testing process that defines how volvero’s platform will be evaluated in real conditions with a strong focus on AI-enabled features such as: 
– Automated replies to user questions and customer support requests, including messages coming through the app and social media channels,
– Faster triage and handling of incoming support issues, reducing response times for both users and operational teams.
The outcome will be a fully designed and executed PoC framework, including validated testing results and identified technical improvements.
This will allow volvero to confirm technical feasibility, improve platform performance, and prepare for scalable deployment across the Caribbean.
- Service n°3: Scaling the solution
Thanks to the “Scaling the solution” service, Altus Regional and volvero will be preparing their validated pilot for expansion across Barbados and the wider Caribbean.
It will look at what it really takes to expand the solution beyond Barbados, including:
– How many vehicles and users are needed,
– What it will cost to operate in each country,
– What local rules must be followed,
– Which markets are the easiest to enter first.
Barbados is becoming the testing ground for a new type of cross-border mobility partnership
Here is what the partnership is achieving:
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🏛️ Altus Regional |
🚗 volvero |
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