Empowering Women Through Wheels: Jai Bharathi’s Mission With MOWO Fleet

MOWO Fleet is a company that trains women to drive electric two- and three-wheelers.

Her mission was to help women access sources of livelihood while improving transport systems, in terms of zero-emission vehicles and last-mile solutions. Female drivers could also entail safer cities, where women often hesitate to take bikes on ride-sharing applications.

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She presented her pitch in front of judges on 'Her Startup Show', a platform dedicated to female entrepreneurs. The show is now available for viewing on JioHotstar.

Jai’s Journey, from Motorcyclist to Entrepreneurship

Building a business wasn’t the first thing Jai set out to do, until her passion presented to her a unique problem.. A passionate rider, Jai has led several national and international motorcycling expeditions, covering over 100,000 kilometres across South East Asia and the United States.

It was through her travels that she discovered nuances of how women’s freedom is linked to mobility. She realised how limited access to mobility restricts women’s freedom, safety, and economic opportunities.

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In India, where public transport can often be unsafe or unreliable for women, having the ability to operate a vehicle is more than a skill—it’s a lifeline. Jai recognised that empowering women with mobility could transform lives, offering them autonomy, financial independence, and most importantly, confidence.

With that vision, she launched MOWO Fleet, which has already trained over 3,000 women. MOWO stands for Moving Women.

Stepping Out of Traditional Roles

In India, female motorcyclists are far rarer in number compared to their male counterparts. So, stepping out of traditional gender roles as dictated by society was easy for Jai. She then decided to bridge the gender gap in the transportation and logistics sector, which is predominantly a male-dominated sector. Only 2% of people in the mobility sector are women.

Jai sought to change that. She rode in on a motorcycle herself to present the pitch to judges on Her Startup Show. She started with 10 women and was looking to expand with the help of the grant.

Impressed by her pitch and vision, Jai was given the 10 lakh grant on the show.

GroupM Motion Entertainment and Mindshare, in collaboration with Britannia and digital partner HerZindagi, have unveiled Season 2 of 'Her Startup Show'—India’s first and only national reality series dedicated solely to women entrepreneurs. It is now streaming on JioHotstar.