Kgosigadi Rides is a ride hailing app for women, by women
Kgosigadi Rides is South Africa's first all-women ride hailing app.
Tilly Legodi co-founded the app after a scary experience riding home using a popular e-hailing service.
Tilly's app ensures safety by verifying the women drivers and riders' ID numbers.
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We live in a country where women and children face heinous levels of violent crimes against them, whether its simply going to school or enjoying a night out.
Even trusted e-hailing services have proven to be dangerous. How many times have you heard a harrowing story of a driver assaulting or threatening a woman just trying to reach her next destination?
A groundbreaking startup is rewriting the rules of transportation for women and children in South Africa.
Tilly Legodi, an entrepreneur and mom of three, took a painful experience and turned it into an opportunity to dedicate herself to the safety and empowerment of women and children with Mzansi's first women-only ride hailing app called Kgosigadi Rides.
Tilly co-founded Kgosigadi Rides to provide a revolutionary service connecting women drivers with women passengers and their children, ensuring a ride experience grounded in safety and trust.
Turning a painful experience into freedom for all
Tilly reveals to TRUELOVE that Kgosigadi Rides wasn't created in a boardroom or born out of a textbook business plan but it came from a personal experience that shook Tilly to her core.
'One night, after a girls' night out, I took a ride home using a popular e-hailing service. The driver took a wrong turn, heading away from my destination. Thankfully, I had shared the ride with my husband, who noticed the deviation. In a moment of fear, I told the driver that my husband – a police officer – was following us because he was working a nearby roadblock.
'When we finally arrived at my gate, the driver took my phone, claiming he was helping me apply a discount. Instead, he rated himself five stars, ended the trip, and handed my phone back. That experience left me feeling violated and deeply unsafe,' Tilly shares.
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'But instead of sitting in that fear, I transformed it into purpose. I made a decision that night – never again. I enrolled in a web development course on Udemy and taught myself how to code. It took a full year to build the Kgosigadi Ride apps from scratch using Flutter. I tested and launched them - and when I realised the system needed to be more robust, I rebuilt everything from the ground up using Node.js.'
From humble beginnings to app development
The birth of Kgosigadi Rides didn't just come out of a scary experience but also from Tilly's undying perseverance and passion for fulfillment.
The 40-year-old app developer was born and raised in Mohlakeng, a small township in the west of Johannesburg.
With dreams of going into fashion, 'Life took a different turn when I became a mother at 19,' Tilly reveals.
Determined to build a future, Tilly studied various business and education courses, trained as a beauty and skincare consultant and explored e-commerce, which led her to her passion for web and mobile app development.
She continues, 'Every five years, I reinvent myself – and this phase of my life has been the most fulfilling yet. I'm a proud mom of three, and my first-born child is now my graphic designer and social media strategist – proof that this journey is not just mine but my family's too.
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'My hobbies include art, creating with my hands, BMX biking, cycling and spending time outdoors. But my true passion today is building apps that change lives. My latest love? Mobile app development – a craft that lets me create solutions that make real impact.'
The mother of all rides
Tilly prides Kgosigadi Rides as an initiative more than just a ride hailing platform. She describes it as a platform where women and children are protected, respected and empowered.
Taking safety and security seriously, Tilly explains that Kgosigadi Rides requires 'all users, both passengers and drivers, to verify their South African ID numbers - ensuring every ride is safe and authentic. We're building a sisterhood, a safe space where women support one another and where drivers can earn a living in dignity and peace.
'The Kgosigadi Ride apps are available now on the Google Play Store and will be launching on iOS by mid-June. The service is accessible to women and children across South Africa, with nationwide availability.'
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