Female-Focused Taxi-Hailing Services App Launched In Nairobi, Kenya

Taxi-hailing services are increasingly becoming popular in major cities across the globe. Kenya’s capital Nairobi is no exception as the city has witnessed a proliferation of taxi-hailing cabs in recent years. There are both local and international taxi apps such as Taxify, Uber, Mondo and Little Cab.

In the early years of taxi-hailing services, safety, especially for women, was a major concern. In Kenya, men dominate the taxi industry. As a result, there have been concerns about the safety of women especially when they ride at night. There have been incidences of attacks on female passengers in the past.

However, the taxi-hailing services landscape in Kenya changed two years ago. Motivated by the need to address women’s concerns an entrepreneur launched a female-only taxi-hailing app in 2018. Mehnaz Sarwar invested around $10,000to to develop the taxi solution called An-Nisa. The taxi service was meant to offer safety and comfort to women and children.

Sarwar, who is a Muslim, previously ran a restaurant business. Her concerns about riding with a male taxi driver pushed her to come up with An-Nisa. She said that her experiences pushed her to develop the app. As a Muslim woman, she has always desired to have a fellow lady drive her which was rare to find. In an interview, she said,

“I was always uncomfortable being in a car with someone I didn’t know, especially if it was a male. So I was always in search of a female driver. I realized that a lot of ladies are still in that position.”

Also Read: Uber Rival Taxify Bets On Motorcycles and Rickshaws in East Africa

Since 2018 the number of female taxi-hailing services drivers has grown significantly in Kenya. An-Nisa not only provides safety to female riders but also is a source of employment for women. Kenya has been enhancing its efforts in mobile and digital technologies to enhance opportunities for women. Currently, the country’s progress on the digital inclusion of women is the highest in Africa. This has spawned further innovation with the likes of Sarwar getting opportunities to transform the digital space. With the an-Nisa app women, drivers can connect with female riders thus enhancing safety.

In its first week, the app managed to register over 100 female drivers with several app downloads. The number has continued to increase with the app targeting close to 2000 drivers. The app has been attracting large numbers of female riders. As a result, this has helped in balancing the demand and supply offering

An-Nisa to charge a commission of 10% on rides

Equally, An-Nisa seeks to empower its drivers economically by ensuring they earn more. Issues of the commissions the taxi-hailing companies charge have always been a concern. There are instances taxi drivers have downed tools citing exploitation form the taxi-hailing companies. However, An-Nisa charges just a 10% commission on the ride relative to the 25% other rivals charge.

According to Sarwar, charging low commission has helped in making fares affordable for women for the same distance travel. Equally, female drivers are earning good commissions and it has given incentives to women entrepreneurs.

In an interview with The Standard Sarwar stated that the app is a source of empowerment for women drivers. She added that it’s a safe option for women who may not prefer riding with a man because of religious reasons.

One driver registered with An-Nisa, Susan Cherono says that the platform is different from the rest. Susan has worked for all the other platforms and shared her joy of having a female-focused taxi-hailing app. She says it is more empowering and the commissions are lower.

More taxi-hailing companies seeking to attract women drivers

However, An-Nisa is not the only taxi-hailing services app in Kenya that has sought to offer women services. For instance, Little Cab which launched in 2016 has been enabling features that offer more safety to women. The app has an option where a customer can choose either a female or a male driver.

According to Little Cab’s sales and marketing head Maureen Chege, the app has been attracting more women. Since its launch, Little Cab has grown the number of female drivers to around 500 from just 27.

Also, Taxify has been encouraging more women to be drivers by offering to finance them. The company is giving priority to women in their financing option for drivers unable to purchase cars upfront. According to Taxify East Africa general manager, there is one female driver in every 50 drivers in the industry. Therefore, they seek to encourage more women to join the taxi-hailing services industry by offering these incentives.