Sibling entrepreneur duo from Hyderabad launch women-only bike taxi service ‘Dovely’
“The whole idea behind initiating this project is to make the everyday commute safe, easy, and comfortable for women and girls in the city,” says Zainab Khatoon Founder and CEO of Dovley.
Hyderabad: Though many women and girls have started to prefer taxis for everyday commuting these days, concerns do remain over issues of safety and security for them, particularly during the night time.
To answer such concerns for women commuters, the sister-duo, Uzma Khatoon and Zainab Khatoon has come up with Dovely, a first-of-its-kind and women-exclusive bike taxi service platform. And, what’s interesting is that these bike taxis are driven only by female drivers.
“The whole idea behind initiating this project is to make the everyday commute safe, easy, and comfortable for women and girls in the city,” says Zainab Khatoon Founder and CEO of Dovley.
It was her mother who pitched the idea to her daughters, and they soon turned it into reality. Their father also supported them from the very beginning and helped them in picking the name Dovely for their taxi service business.
“The services are now available only from the old city to Mehdiptanam, and very soon will be extended to Bahadurpura area,” she says.
Unlike other cab aggregators that require users to download an app to book a drive, Dovley operates through its website and WhatsApp. The entrepreneurs are also planning to launch an app, which is currently under development.
The sister duo started the project by pooling their own money with no venture capital. However, now it is supported by the idea stage start-up incubator Edventure park. They are also planning to pitch their business idea to investors to expand the business further. In addition to operating women oriented taxi service, Dovely aims to increase women’s employment and help them in achieving financial independence by hiring women riders for its platform.
Zainab Khatoon personally selects and onboards female drivers, she checks the driving skills of the drivers before recruiting them to ensure the safety of passengers.
“As of now, we are focusing on expanding our services in the entire Hyderabad. But in the future, we will try to foray into other major cities across India,” she says sharing their future plans.
