Our Story: Turning Pain Into Purpose
By Faith Mairah, Founder & CEO • December 2024
The Birth of INGO
INGO was born from a deeply personal journey. After unexpectedly losing a global consultancy due to USAID funding cuts, I found myself at a crossroads. With bills to pay and dreams to protect, I turned to ride-hailing as a means of survival.
What began as a temporary fallback revealed a deeper, painful reality: the transport system was not built with women in mind.
On the road, I experienced firsthand the fears, risks, and vulnerability that women face daily as drivers and passengers.
A System Not Built for Women
I encountered harassment, unsafe environments, and the absence of fellow women in the driver's seat. I also witnessed children commuting to school without safe, trustworthy transport options. Behind every ride was a reminder: mobility in Uganda was unsafe, unequal, and unprotected.
From Fear to Purpose
Instead of giving in to fear, I transformed it into purpose. My lived experience revealed two fundamental truths:
Truth #1
Women and children desperately needed safer mobility.
Truth #2
Women were also the answer to creating it while closing the gender equity job gap in transport.
The Vision Takes Shape
From this pain, a vision took shape—one where women reclaim control, earn with dignity, move with safety, and redefine what transport can be. I imagined a women-led mobility ecosystem built on trust, professionalism, and empowerment. That vision became INGO:
- → A movement to give women control, communities confidence, and society safer, more inclusive mobility
- → A service that protects women, values their work, and delivers excellence to the public
- → A platform where economic opportunity meets dignity and purpose
More Than a Company
INGO is not just a company. It is the transformation of struggle into strength, fear into innovation, and uncertainty into a powerful engine for change.
Today, we are building Uganda's largest network of trained women drivers, starting with 26 women in our first cohort. We're creating safe, professional transport services while empowering women economically in a male-dominated industry.
Join Our Movement
Whether you're looking for safe rides, want to join as a driver, or support our mission, there's a place for you in the INGO family.