Women Driving Community
Helping Women Navigate Life’s Most Impactful Seasons. From menstruation to motherhood and beyond, Boda Girls provide safe rides, trusted education, and unwavering support.
Green riders for a greener future!
Boda Girls isn’t just transforming health access — we’re helping protect the planet.
Our riders now use electric motorcycles that reduce emissions and help mitigate the effects of climate change. As we grow, we’re committed to making our fleet—and our future—greener.
But going green isn’t just about the bikes.
After every safe delivery, Boda Girls help plant a kitchen garden at the mother’s home—providing nutritious food for the family and a new avocado tree dedicated to the baby’s arrival. Extra fruit can even be sold for income.
Every Boda Girl also plants a tree at graduation, a symbol of her personal growth and her commitment to a healthier world.
Boda Girls are proving that health equity and environmental sustainability can—and must—go hand in hand.
Latest News
Featured in The New York Times
A powerful spotlight on how Boda Girls are transforming health access for women in Kenya. Read the full article here.
Welcome Med25!
We’re thrilled to announce Med25 as our newest Boda Girls partner in Homa Bay County.
A Future Toward Prosperity and Health
We know that female empowerment drives a community’s health. Boda Girls wants to inspire and enable women to reach their fullest potential. Today in Rural Kenya, thousands of women lack access to education, critical health care services, and work opportunities outside traditional, low-wage women’s work.
This results in …
- High rates of preventable maternal and cervical cancer deaths
- Young girls missing school leading to dropouts, early pregnancies and financial dependency
- A lack of skills mentoring and employment opportunities
- A lack of hope for a vibrant future
The missing link? Transportation.
Introducing Boda Girls!
Traditionally, Boda Boda driving has been seen as “men’s work” — offering income up to ten times higher than the farm labor available to most women.
Through the Boda Girls program, women are breaking barriers. They learn to drive, build their own taxi businesses, and provide safe, free rides for women to critical health services.
Each Boda Girl receives a no-interest motorcycle loan, along with a contract from a partnering hospital. Over two years, they repay the loan by offering free transportation for pregnant women and patients in need. Like their male peers, they also take paying clients — and invest that income back into their families and futures.
While most male drivers rent their motorcycles daily, Boda Girls own their business assets, earning an additional $3 of daily income on average — and the power that comes with true ownership.
An empowered woman is a thriving community
The best part is, Boda Girls are so much more than just Boda taxi drivers; they are health advocates and community leaders! We enable them through a mastery of various competencies to support women of all ages, throughout critical times of their life.
Sexual & Reproductive Health
“When a woman can plan her family, she can plan her life.” – Melinda French Gates
Problem:
In rural Kenya, many girls lack access to menstrual health education and sanitary products. Women of reproductive age often go without information or support when it comes to family planning.
Solution:
Boda Girls deliver sexual and reproductive health education in schools, distribute menstrual kits, and offer free motorcycle rides to clinics for family planning services.
Impact:
5,000+ girls reached in 84 schools
Thousands of menstrual kits distributed
Dozens of family planning sessions supported
Safe Motherhood
Problem:
Pregnant women often walk miles to clinics or go without care due to the cost of transportation. Unattended deliveries are still common, contributing to high maternal mortality rates in Western Kenya.
Solution:
Boda Girls ensure women receive prenatal and postnatal care by providing free rides to 10 antenatal clinics per pregnancy, which include ultrasounds, nutrition counseling, vaccinations, and more.
Impact:
11,000+ free rides to hospitals
67% increase in hospital births
110% increase in maternal clinic visits
2,000% increase in ultrasounds
Women’s Health & Cancer Prevention
Problem:
Kenya has one of the highest cervical cancer mortality rates in the world, and breast cancer cases are steadily rising. Too often, both are diagnosed late — when treatment options are limited and outcomes are poor.
Solution:
Boda Girls provide transport to screening clinics, encourage HPV vaccination among girls, and support early detection campaigns in their communities.
Whether it’s a free ride, information, introductions, or friendship, Boda Girls become a go-to for women in the community for connections, inspiration, and opportunity.
Expanding Our Reach
Boda Girls is growing. We are partnering with rural hospitals across Western Kenya—specifically in counties with some of the highest maternal and cervical cancer mortality rates in the country.
By embedding our model into trusted health institutions, we’re creating a ripple effect of access, safety, and empowerment for women across the region.
Male Allies for Women’s Safety
Creating safer communities requires everyone at the table—including men. Through our Male Allies program, we train local boda boda drivers to:
Respond to emergencies
Alleviate gender-based violence (GBV)
Improve their relationships with police
Rebuild trust in their communities
Together, we’re reshaping the role of men in women’s safety and wellbeing.
Led by Women, For Women
At its core, Boda Girls believes women are the best to lead women. Our program is guided by a team of bold Kenyan women—including a dedicated Country Advisor—and implemented entirely by women using a franchise model.
Each new site receives:
Access to the Boda Girls brand
A proven curriculum of 15 training modules
A monitoring & evaluation (M&E) toolkit
Group discounts on motorcycles
No-interest loans for motorcycle ownership
Using a combination of train-the-trainer methods, peer mentoring, and weekly area coordinator meetings, each location builds a team of 20 trained Boda Girls over three years—equipping them with the skills to lead, serve, and grow their communities.
A Woman-Centered Curriculum
PREP
Life skills & self-confidence
Financial literacy
First aid & self-defense
DRIVE
Learn to drive
Secure license and insurance
Motorcycle maintenance
BUILD
Launch and grow a taxi business
Learn banking, investment, and long-term financial planning
HEAL
Patient navigation for health services
Menstrual & reproductive health education
Prevention of early marriage and teen pregnancy
Maternal, newborn, and child health (through age 5)
Cervical and breast cancer awareness, self-testing, vaccination, screening, and treatment support
LEAD
Mentor new Boda Girls
Teach entrepreneurial skills
Train and certify women as mechanics
Lead Male Ally programs
Integrate women into the transport sector at all levels
Annual Impact Goals
Trained Boda Girls across multiple counties
Girls educated in menstrual health
Free rides for women to the hospital for family planning, prenatal, and cancer screening services
%
Increase in hospital deliveries & 100% increase in Maternal Clinics
Women develop profitable businesses and mentor others to do the same
The biggest impact is that thousands of women and girls will be inspired to follow their dreams, and will have the tools to do so!
In 2024, Tiba received a grant from Harvard Business School Community Partners for a 4-month study on scaling Boda Girls. The HBS experts recommended that Tiba take the lead in scaling the Boda Girls Program by working with other hospitals and NGOs in Western Kenya similar to Matibabu. Matibabu, our first implementation site, is recognized as our Boda Girls Innovation Lab, where we will test out new ideas that deepen the Boda Girls’ efforts in their communities. For example, a pilot using electric bodas will begin in 2025.
Interested in partnering, volunteering, or learning more?
Reach out to Nancy Akeyo, Tiba Foundation’s Project Advisor, Kenya
akeyo.nancy@gmail.com
For more information email Diane Dodge, Tiba Executive Director.
Become a Champion for female empowerment.
By contributing to the Boda Girls initiative, you’re investing in the lives of women and girls, and ultimately, in community transformation. Magnify your impact by becoming a Boda Girls Champion, and give a monthly gift of any amount to support the growth of Boda Girls!
*We are proud to pledge that 100% of donations go to supporting Boda Girls in Kenya
Boda Girls is a program of Tiba and Matibabu Foundations
Tiba Foundation
Leads Boda Girls Scaling in Kenya
Matibabu Hospital
Boda Girls Center of Excellence
Med25
Our Partners:
