By Moses Adongo
The scramble for the digital taxi market has intensified with the industry registering a new entrant dubbed An- Nisa. Launched by Mehnaz Sarwar in Nairobi, the ride mainly seeks to empower women drivers in the taxi industry.
The taxi-hailing app will exclusively target women who have always felt vulnerable to being driven by cabmen. Children will also be able to ride in the new cab; however, Sarwar says the app will be opened to men in future when the need arises.
Exclusively operated by women, the new entrant will expand the male-dominated industry besides creating more jobs for women. Sarwar says the company will start with about 60 female drivers with a targeted expansion in future.
During the launch, Sarwar revealed that the ride would operate everywhere in the major towns. Currently, the existing e- taxi operators have only set base in a few major urban centers in the country, an opportunity An- Nisa seeks to capitalize on.
The new online taxi service will join an industry that is already mushroomed by ten other popular rides operating in it. This includes Uber, Taxify, Little Cab among others.
While tapping on a tech-savvy population, the cab-hailing sector has in recent times significantly developed. It has seen the boda-boda sector, which is common among the low class, trapped into the technology. Working successfully in other East Africa Community nations, the hailing motorcycle services have spread to Kenya and are already doing well.
