Gorakhpur (UP), Jan 16, 2025: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and MP Ravi Kishan have flagged off 10 women-driven e-rickshaws, a milestone powered by Cluster-Level Federations under the National Rural Livelihood Mission. This is the scaling up of the Development Alternatives’ Safe Mobility Initiative which revolutionized the safety for women travelling in Mirzapur.
Development Alternatives (DA), represented by its CEO Shrashtant Patara and Associate Vice President Kanika Verma, was invited by the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission to showcase its Safe Mobility Initiative at the event on December 21, 2024, at Yogi Baba Gambhirnath Prekshagrih, in Gorakhpur. DA's initiative has empowered 110 women e-rickshaw entrepreneurs, leading to enhanced safe mobility for over 100,000 women and girls in Mirzapur. This transformative initiative not only meets the urgent need for secure transportation but also fosters economic and social empowerment for women in remote areas.
Amidst the backdrop of deep-rooted societal challenges such as female foeticide, caste discrimination, poverty, and patriarchy, DA’s safe mobility program emerges as a beacon of hope. This initiative is dismantling significant obstacles to women's progress, proving that these barriers are meant to be shattered — one e-rickshaw ride at a time.
The women-led e-rickshaw prototype by Development Alternatives (DA) was co-created with aspiring women entrepreneurs in Mirzapur in 2018 where they revealed the common challenges faced by them in accessing safe and secure transportation.
The safe mobility prototype was developed with the help of “La Caixa” foundation and was accelerated in Uttar Pradesh with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The State of Uttar Pradesh (UP) is the fourth largest state in India, housing over 16.5% (240 million approx.) of the country’s total population and contributing 9.2% to the national GDP. The government of UP has undertaken an array of employment generation and job creation initiatives for its growing population. Over the past five decades, Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs) have provided extensive employment opportunities, particularly in rural areas, and have played a critical role in job creation.
Systemic barriers such as caste, gender, and economic inequality, continue to inhibit the realization of rural women’s full potential within New India's growth story. India’s female labour force participation rate (FLPR) has been declining for three decades, with a more pronounced effect in states like Uttar Pradesh. As part of its mandate to create 1 million jobs by 2027 in Uttar Pradesh through 250,000 sustainable enterprises, DA has been promoting ‘Inclusive Entrepreneurship’ to enable under-represented groups such as youth and women to transition from job seekers to job creators.
DA’s work on the ground with women to unleash their entrepreneurial aspirations has shown that the key to real transformation lies in creating systemic shifts that bring women to the forefront of economic empowerment. Together with our partners, DA has established 15000+ enterprises across 7 districts of Eastern UP and Bundelkhand generating 26,000+ jobs. 49% of these entrepreneurs are women. Women anchoring entrepreneurship brings in an institutional change in the ecosystem and encourages them to move towards non-traditional enterprises while supporting fellow women to enhance their livelihoods.
Our social innovation tools to unleash entrepreneurship have been adopted by the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (UPSRLM) in 5 districts of Uttar Pradesh – Mirzapur, Gorakhpur, Ayodhya, Kaushambi and Varanasi. Our Programme, “Promotion of Women-led Enterprises in Uttar Pradesh” aims at setting up 100,000 women enterprises through engagement with Cluster Level Federations (CLFs) in 10-15 districts by May 2027. This is proposed to be implemented through CLFs and will involve identification, needs assessment and training of the relevant resource cadre of UPSRLM, to empower them to anchor the safe mobility ecosystem in Uttar Pradesh.
The phase II, which was flagged off by the CM, would set up 1,000 women-led e-rickshaw enterprises in three more districts - Ayodhya, Varanasi, and Kaushambi along with Gorakhpur by May 2025. This will be implemented in convergence with existing government initiatives including Lakhpati Didi and Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY).
Kanika Verma, Lead Sustainable Enterprises & Associate Vice President, DA, said, "Our goal is to empower women to take charge of addressing the challenge of safe mobility, a barrier that limits their potential in society. We envision a future where young girls feel free and secure to pursue education, and women have the independence to earn their livelihoods.”
According to a survey, 57% of Indian women reported feeling unsafe utilizing public transport, and 52% rejected opportunities owing to safety concerns. As per the World Bank report, the traditional design of Indian public transport services does not prioritize women's safety.
The women-led e-rickshaw prototype of Development Alternatives (DA) was co-created with aspiring women entrepreneurs in 2018. During the reflection workshop organised to capture narratives from aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs, they revealed the common challenges faced by them in the e-mobility space. In response to cater to the demand from women entrepreneurs to establish a women’s group and mitigate the gap between entrepreneurs and local actors, the field team recognised the opportunity of convening these women and local actors in a more formal environment to effectively address their challenges. Using the prototype of a District Entrepreneurship Coalition (DEC), where a group of individuals, organizations, and stakeholders come together to support and promote entrepreneurship in a particular area, DEC for e-mobility, called “Aarya Manch,” has been co-created collaboratively with women entrepreneurs and local ecosystem stakeholders like local self government authorities, Regional Transport Office (RTO) officials, police officials and r-rickshaw technology vendors.
This coalition for e-mobility, ‘Aarya Manch,’ was launched on September 5th 2023. The second edition on November 3, 2023, drew over 100 participants, featuring discussions, lectures, and a street show to support women in e-mobility, with involvement from diverse stakeholders and e-rickshaw entrepreneurs. The Aarya Manch meeting is held every month. The women e-rickshaw entrepreneurs or Aarya’s as they call themselves, use this platform to interact with local ecosystem stakeholders. They discuss issues they face at work , share their expertise and help other women entrepreneurs, both existing and aspiring, by offering insights from their experiences. Since its launch in September 2023, the Aarya Manch has successfully arranged two coalition meetings and seen a 60% increase in the number of women e-rickshaw drivers, from 62 to 100, a growth that can be attributed to Aarya Manch. What began with one woman aspiring to be an e-rickshaw entrepreneur (AKA Aarya) in 2017 has resulted in a network of 110+ empowered Aaryas across the Mirzapur district, catering to the mobility needs of 100,000+ women and young girls.
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