Rapido makes micro-entrepreneurs of women in Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad: With an electric scooter and a smartphone, women across Andhra Pradesh are steering their families into a brighter future. A quiet revolution is unfolding on the streets of cities like Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Nellore, where women from Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have turned into proud micro-entrepreneurs, ferrying passengers through Rapido and bringing home a steady income.

Under the government’s “One Family, One Entrepreneur” vision, the Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) joined hands with ride aggregator Rapido to provide electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers to SHG women and their families.

As part of the pilot phase, the government had facilitated loans for 1,000 beneficiaries across 9 urban centers in the state, with 400 each in Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, 50 in Nellore and Guntur, and 25 each in Kurnool, Tirupati, Kakinada, and Rajahmundry. Of these, about 760 were electric two-wheelers and 240 were electric three-wheelers.

The loans are issued in the name of SHG women, but if a woman does not hold a driving license, a family member with a license is allowed to operate the vehicle on her behalf. To make the process simple, MEPMA prepared the necessary project reports and helped women secure loans from nationalised banks under the Self-Employment Programme (SEP) scheme.

The partnership with Rapido brought additional support. New entrants enjoyed a waiver on platform onboarding fees for three to four months and monthly EMI assistance of Rs 1,000 for the first year, for both two-wheelers and three-wheelers. This ensured that women and their families could start earning from day one, without the initial burden of high repayments.

So far, 1,003 women and their families have benefited from it and have availed loans to buy two/ three-wheelers, with 688 registrations noted on Rapido.

Emphasising on the state government’s consistent efforts towards women empowerment, HRD & IT Minister Nara Lokesh said, “Women empowerment is a key focus area of TDP government since inception. I’m happy that we could create this partnership with Rapido and empower over 1000 women. This is just a start and we will be doing much more.”

While one of the beneficiaries from Vijayawada, Vadlapudi Glory Manju, bought a scooter in March with the help of the government subsidy and began offering Rapido rides. Today, she earns up to Rs 10,000 a month. “After finishing my household chores, I ride for a few hours. The income pays my EMI and also helps me save a little. More than money, it’s the independence that makes me happy,” she added.

For Madhavi from Kandrika in Vijayawada, the initiative came as a lifeline when her husband suffered paralysis. After her husband Brahmananda Reddy suffered paralysis, she took on the responsibility of the household and began working, driving Rapido during her free time to support her children’s education.

“I am an SC woman. I married Brahmananda Reddy out of love in an inter-caste marriage. After marriage, he was affected by paralysis. Under the current coalition government, he is receiving a ₹6,000 disability pension, which covers his medicines and treatment,” Madhavi said.

“During this difficult time, I learned about MEPMA through DWCRA groups. With their support, I bought an Activa two-wheeler, thanks to a Rs 16,000 subsidy. I started driving with Rapido, and now I’m earning extra income,” she said.

“I earn about Rs 12,000 per month through Rapido. After paying the ₹4,500 EMI, the rest adds to my family’s income. The money that comes from this job is a huge support,” Madhavi added.

Women receive bank loans for vehicles, subsidies ranging from Rs 12,300 for scooters to Rs 36,000 for autos, and support from Rapido in the form of waived onboarding fees and EMI assistance in the initial months. With electric vehicles cutting down fuel and maintenance costs, women entrepreneurs are managing to save between Rs 13,000 and Rs 16,000 a month, offering their families much-needed stability.

The AP government now plans to scale up the initiative to reach 4,800 women by next year. Already, more than 45,000 rides have been completed by the new fleet of women drivers, and they have collectively been able to earn up to 35 Lakh within three months- May, June & July.