International Women’s Day 2022: ‘Around 50 of our home delivery partners are women’

The Hindu presents a woman who ventured into the electric vehicle business and is also creating space for other women

The electric vehicle space is booming on the back of demand for alternatives to internal combustion engine vehicles and the stupendous growth in the home delivery business. While the home delivery business appears to be dominated by men, some women are determined to make space for themselves in this high-growth sector. The Hindu presents a woman who ventured into this business and is also creating space for other women. Excerpts from an interview with Rashi Agarwal, co-founder & Chief Business Officer of Gurugram-based Zypp Electric:

Zypp is not operating in a crowded space as Zypp has the first-mover advantage in the EV-as-a-service space and is also the largest player in India today. We are building an eco-system of Electric Vehicles and EV-based technology to make last-mile logistics sustainable and emission-free.

We have 100+ partners across the logistics, grocery, food, and pharma sectors, including Zomato, Swiggy, BigBasket, Blinkit, Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra, PharmEasy, Delhivery and Spencers. Further, we have a tie-up with most of the leading last-mile delivery service providers. With over 5,000 EVs on-road, Zypp has already completed more than 4 million deliveries this financial year.

With the automotive industry mostly thought of as a male domain, because of the earlier mechanical nature of the work, the advancements in digitalistion and adoption of emerging tech have made it easier for women to be part of the industry in distinguished roles. I believe women have immense potential to break stereotypes in any industry. We have some really great examples of women in EV leadership driving the growth and innovative outlook of the industry. With the need to push creative solutions to bridge the gap in the EV space, the industry needs an inclusive and collaborative approach, which is only possible with a diverse set of experts at the helm.

Women have entered every segment you can think of. If they can be bus or auto drivers, or wrestlers or conductors, why can't they be delivery riders? They strive to excel in any segment they enter. Being a woman, diligence, hard work, and discipline are inherent qualities that are very essential for this role. In fact, around 50 female riders are currently associated with us and happily doing khushiyo ki delivery as the #SheroesofEV.

The biggest role I envision for women in the current EV ecosystem is to associate with them as delivery partners. The EV scooters are very comfortable and easy to use, they have ample space, they are cost-effective, and low maintenance with high performance. Every woman can be empowered today to start their journey of being financially independent through the EV ecosystem.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the key roles could be of delivery partners. Along with that, I would love to have 50% of the ground and maintenance team be women as the tech, finance, admin, HR profiles surely would have a good female ratio.