Work here and you’ll love it: Women in boda boda business

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It's a busy evening in Machakos as vehicle engines, drilling and honking sounds fill the streets.

Dust whirls around ditches as boda boda riders hunt for customers.

“Customer, kuja nikupeleke!” one rider shouts, touching the arm of a passer-by.

Two other riders try to divert the attention of passers-by who are on the phone.

“Hunikumbi leo, customer! Kuja nikupeleka na bei mzuri,” another one says.

Consolata Adipo is amid all these activities, not as a customer but as a rider.

“I began working as a rider in 2013,” she says, pointing her motorcycle, which is branded in maroon black colour. “I used to work at EPZ but then I quit.” 

Adipo, 42, decided to start the business after realising the living standards of the people who used to do it were better than those working in the industries. 

“The business has been growing despite the challenges we go through. I have a lot of customers,” she says, smiling.

“It is very rare for me to be found idling at the stage because customers are always picking me.”

Known as 'Lady Tosha Mwene', Adipo says when she picks a customer, she starts a conversation in a motherly way.

She was given the name 'Lady Tosha' (competent lady) when she was young. 'Mwene' is a Kamba word meaning 'Mwenyewe' (the one). 

“I ensure to ride safely. When you compare that with the men's riding, they are fast and customers may not be so sure they will get to their destinations safely,” she says.

“I ensure I get the customer to their destination so they can come to me tomorrow.”

Adipo says she is motivated because she is her own boss.

“One of the motivators in this job is that no one minds another person's business. No one will scold you. I come in the morning and do my work,” she says.

A DAY AT WORK

Adipo gets to work at 7.30am and closes at 6.30pm from Monday to Saturday. She does not work on Sundays.

“I close at that time because I mind about my welfare. I fear if I continue till around 8pm, someone might accost me and steal my bike,” she says.

She says her biggest challenge is being compared to men and the rising cost of fuel.

“Most people do not trust women as their riders and it's because the society only thinks that men can ride and that women cannot,” she says.

But she says this has not been a hindrance to her.

Adipo says the cost of fuel, which now retails at Sh192 per litre, has become a major problem.

“If I tell a customer to add fare they will not agree to that,” she says.

For her to venture into a male-dominated business, Adipo had to seek permission from her family.

“When I decided to do this work, I told my father, who supported me. It's because I had to cater for my family after my husband left,” she says.

Adipo was divorced and has a child who has finished Form 4 and currently stays in Siaya, Kisumu.

“My father advised me that I should not discriminate against jobs if I wanted to take care of my family. So I decided to do it,” she says. 

Adipo says she gets about Sh1,000 a day on a good day. 

“To get that, I would have worked my hardest. On the bad days, I get around Sh700 or Sh750,” she says. This means she can get up to Sh26,000 in a good month.

Boda bodas provide more than one million direct jobs for riders, who earn roughly less than Sh1,000 a day, according to a study by Car & General.

C&G estimates that each rider makes an average of Sh1,000 per day from an average of 15 rides, translating to a daily income of Sh1 billion or Sh365 billion annually for the one million of them.

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WHAT IT TAKES

Adipo juggles a lot with her earnings, as she has to pay her rent in Machakos and feed herself and still sends some money home.

“My job is a hand-to-mouth job. I have never had my house closed. I work hard to pay rent,” she says.

“Women are even better in this job than men.”

Adipo hopes she will buy a car and venture into taxis, which are safer than boda bodas.

“My vision was to buy a vehicle so I could do taxi business. But God has plans for me,” she says.

As a customer nears her ride, Adipo says women should not be afraid to venture into the boda boda business.

“You should be brave on the road. Do not be a coward because you will meet lorries beeping at you even when you are not at fault,” she says.

“Do not fret and cause an accident. Just slow down and let the lorry pass, then continue with your journey.” 

According to the National Crime Research Centre 2019, most boda boda riders or operators (97.4 per cent) were males, while female riders accounted for 2.6 per cent.

On age, 38.2 per cent of the riders were 26-33 years old.

Adipo asked young people not to sneer at any work.

“Today's Kenya is different, do not discriminate on jobs. Get a job as long as you are toiling for your earning,” she says.

“So ladies, do not idle when there's work. Come, let us work here and you will love it.”

The government of Kenya zero-rated import duty on motorcycles of up to 250cc in 2008. This made them affordable to average Kenyan homes.

In its 2018 report, NTSA documented nearly 1.4 million registered motorcycles in Kenya, but the number has gone higher.

HOBBY TURNED TO JOB

In Awasi, Kisumu, Damaris Akinyi, 26, a mother of two, has been enjoying her work as a rider.

“I chose boda boda because I thought it was the best way to nurture my community. This is because most women think boda boda is only for men,” she says.

Akinyi started riding motorcycles as a hobby and then turned it into a job in 2018. 

“It's not the only job I do, but it is the main hustle. I also have other things I do, like farming. But this is what pays me most as I get at least Sh1,500 a day,” she says. 

She says most women prefer her to men when it comes to riding motorbikes.

“Good times are when women and girls support me because they feel like there are few women in the business. And they will just come and look for me to take them to their destination,” she says.

Akinyi says she and the villagers have formed a bond such that she is called into homes to ferry schoolgirls to school as compared to men cyclists.

“It has really made me known but sometimes you find competition from men who feel I cannot do my work properly,” she says.

Akinyi has had some friction with men who feel threatened by her.

“When you are competing with men who feel like this work is not meant for women and that you're becoming an obstacle to them, as a woman, you have to feel insecure because you don't know whom to trust in this generation."

She has come across people who feel they can easily seduce a woman and make her stay at home when she gets pregnant.

“There are people who have the mentality that women are easy to be lured to sex and other things like prostitution,” she says.  

“So they feel like in your line of duty, you might be doing this and at night, you have another line of work.”

TOUGH BUT REWARDING

Akinyi says there are times she has lost customers because she is a woman.

“Several times because most men feel like a woman cannot do this job. It's meant for men,” she says.

“They feel like you're young and carrying someone heavier than you, you can cause an accident.”

Akinyi says as a mother of two girls, she would advise her daughters to go into boda boda business in future.

“You don't have the right to choose a career for your child, but if she is asking me an opinion and she wants to be a boda boda rider, of course. Why not?” she says.

“It's just like any other job. If it's their interest, yes. It is a good job. It pays. I’d wish for my daughter to join me.”

Her job has supported her and her extended family. Motorcycles are fairly affordable, retailing at between Sh65,000 and Sh130,000, enabling many youths to acquire them for business.

“I carry my clients and in it, I save a lot. It also has allowed me to empower other women to join me in doing it. We also have a sacco that helps us in saving. I save like Sh100 per day,” she says.

Akinyi says for many women to venture into the business, the government has to equip riders with helmets.

“Many boda boda riders don't have helmets and other equipment. So they should give us helmets and open a school for boda boda riders to train others to also ride bikes,” she says.

She says they could also be given loans so that those who can buy bikes can do so. 

STAKEHOLDERS' VIEWS

Boda Boda Association chair Kevin Mubadi told the Star the association is trying to support female riders in Kenya.

“We are trying to encourage them to join and do the boda boda business. We have not done much this year, but we are trying to train them for them to be able to get licences,” he says. 

The Boda Boda Association puts female riders at about 350 as of 2022. Kenya has 1.8 million male riders.

A boda boda rider John Muchiri 30, welcomes the challenge of women in the boda business. But he cautions against predatory customers.

“Sometimes some male customers have a very stupid mentality. They choose the female riders thinking that they can hit on them or maybe trick them,” he says.

Customer Naomi Wambui says she has never been carried by a female rider but she prefers men.

“Riding a motorbike in the Nairobi streets needs confidence and courage as it is not safe. There's a way that men can manoeuvre the roads, which is not easy for women,” she says.

She says it's also safer with men than women when it comes to security.

Customer Peter Mburu says he prefers female riders.

“They are motherly and in case I'm going home from an event using boda bodas, that person will make sure I get home safe," he says.

President William Ruto said on July 25,2023 that there were plans to convert all the 1.8 million motorised motorcycles in the country into electric bikes in the next three to five years.

“Through that plan alone, we will create job opportunities for more than 100,000 youth,” he said.

He also said the government will work on a plan to provide affordable credit facilities and enable more Kenyans to acquire electric motorcycles cheaply.

“So many people are paying double the price. For a motorcycle that costs Sh150,000, you end up paying over Sh300,000. That is where I want us to make plans and I have already spoken to Industrialization PS Mukhwana to make arrangements. I want the government to intervene so that we reduce the cost of financing."

In one of his pledges, Ruto said the boda boda industry is about to experience inclusive transformation through the introduction of more efficient, affordable and clean vehicles.

He said owning and operating a boda boda will become affordable, secure and profitable.

Ruto said  Kenyans who wish to venture into the transport business will from September access electric boda bodas.

“When I went round the country, they (boda bodas) stepped forward and told me they are victims of an exploitative financing system,” Ruto said.

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This story was produced by The Star Publications in partnership with WAN IFRA Women In News