The female-only ride-sharing service, started by George McEncroe, has also cracked the $1 million mark on its mission to raise $3 million in order to fund its next phase of growth.
As of Friday morning, they had 1051 investors, 94 per cent of whom are female.
It’s a huge shift from those who usually invest in such offers.
Shebah quotes stats from Birchal, the platform hosting the crowdfunding offer, stating that an average of just 17 per cent of investors in their offers have been female — making Shebah’s current female investor rate more than 5.5 times the average of pervious offers.
Shebah also broke Birchal’s record for the most money raised in two days, smashing the previous $300,000 mark to achieve more than $400,000 in the first 48 hours.
McEncroe launched the campaign to enable the community and its drivers to own a share in the service. Commenting on the launch last month, she said she had grown frustrated by the standard investment groups, many dominated by men.
“I don’t want to sound like a whinger, but you can’t help but wonder, if this was affecting every bloke, would it be a different scenario? she told Smart Company.
“When we pitch, we have to explain what it’s like to sit in the back seat all the time.
“A lot of men don’t want to consider that their female counterparts experience anything less than equality,” she adds.
McEncroe is a teacher, radio presenter, comedian, CEO and successful entrepreneur. She told us in 2018 how the disturbing stories her teenage daughter reported about catching transport at night triggered a light bulb moment: “Why is there no option for women to travel together?”
Shortly after the concept of Shebah sprang to life—a ride sharing business operated by women for women, launching on International Women’s Day 2017. Shebah saw 190% year-on-year growth in its user base, turning over $1.8 million in 2018.
Shebah says the funding they are currently raising will be used to support its next stage of growth, especially through improving its tech and supporting its marketing. They are also looking into adding better options for child passengers, so parents can better specify their requirements immediately, without having to discuss it with drivers over the phone.