Salman Sufi Foundation (SSF) and Cheetay have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work towards women empowerment. Cheetay pledged to employ 10,000 riders from Women on Wheels (WoW)—an initiative of SSF, into their rider force.
The partnership will also explore opportunities for introducing electric-motorbikes in Pakistan where WoW beneficiaries will be one of the first bike riders in Pakistan to own and use e-motorbikes, as part of Cheetay’s initiative towards a green Pakistan.
“It’s time that we adopt more innovative means to tackle historical problems, especially gender inequality. Half of our population is unable to realize their true potential because of lack of mobility and practical skills,” said Salman Sufi, Founder of the Salman Sufi Foundation.
With our Women on Wheels initiative and collaboration with Cheetay as our partner, we are trying to think out of the box so that women can take control of their lives and enjoy economic independence and social mobility.
To strengthen the partnership, Mr. Sufi agreed to be a member of Cheetay’s Advisory Board dedicated to social causes.
WoW is an unprecedented social movement dedicated to increasing young girls’ and women’s safe mobility and integration into the formal economy by providing free of cost bike riding training complemented by facilitation in acquiring driving licenses and empowerment workshops to mainstream gender equality. The trainees are then connected to corporate partners via a job placement app to help them find relevant employment opportunities.
“At Cheetay, empowering women is a priority,” said Feeza Mumtaz, Director of Brand & Creative at Cheetay.
Through our partnership with the Salman Sufi Foundation and Women on Wheels, we hope to make women self-reliant. To aid this, we will offer women riders flexible shifts in a secure environment, and provide subsidized education to their children so they can work knowing their family is being taken care of.
Cheetay is the fastest-growing NOW-Commerce platform. Headquartered in Lahore, The company has extended its operations to Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad and plans to expand to 10 more cities by June 2020. The platform boasts of more than 2000 vendors.
“We are rapidly expanding our fleet, and it’ll be impossible to grow it manifold without employing women riders. Riders are the backbone of our business, and here at Cheetay we truly value them and make it apparent by a multitude of benefits they are offered,” said Mohsin Qureshi, COO of Cheetay.
The homegrown startup promotes youth employment. It is one of the few organizations in the country to provide equal work opportunities and a safe environment for minorities. The company’s vision is to harness, support and empower local talent. It employs cutting edge technology to bring convenience to Pakistanis.
“Cheetay is known for a lot of industry-firsts. Incorporating e-motorbikes into our last-mile delivery model and hiring female riders will add to that list,” said Maha Shah, Head of Social Impact Programs and Public Relations at Cheetay.
As a working mother, women employment is a cause I feel strongly about. WoW and Cheetay’s partnership solves the problem at the grassroots level by empowering women and changing mindsets.
Previously a food delivery startup, Cheetay plans to operate in five different verticals: food, pantry, pharma, dairy, and errand to transform into an everyday app that will change the way people shop. The company uses powerful algorithms at the back-end to understand consumer behavior. The multi categories are aimed at providing consumers last-mile delivery logistics and convenience to customers.
