Loud Mobility, the social enterprise on a mission to make sustainable mobility more inclusive, has announced its acquisition of cycling e-commerce business Cyclechic.
The partnership sees two of the sector’s dynamic female entrepreneurs, Georgia Yexley and Caz Conneller, combine their experience and individual networks to promote increased participation amongst women in cycling, active travel and micromobility.
Although women make up 49% of the UK workforce, in the UK’s cycling industry, just 8% of workshop-based roles, and 19% of customer-facing roles, are occupied by women. Disparities also exist in terms of usage, with each woman making an average of seven cycling trips per year in 2021 compared with 24 trips for each man.
“We’re focused on the system change that’s needed to move more women towards a decarbonised transport system. To do this, we need a cultural and community shift and that’s what Caz brings to the table,” Loud Mobility Founder Georgia Yexley told Zag Daily.
“The combined force of both of our experiences and deep understanding of the industry, and also the social problems, means that our impact together is multiplied and multiplied,” Cyclechic Founder Caz Connelly added.
Cyclechic caters to cycling fashion and addressing the barriers women face in cycling, though the retail arm will cease operations in early 2024 with the acquisition.
She’s Electric
One project that Caz will head up in her new role as Loud Mobility’s Director of Community and Culture is the ‘She’s Electric’ campaign which began as an awareness campaign on Cyclechic’s platforms.
“The mission of the campaign is to inspire and enable more women to ride an electric cycle and use them as their mode of transport in their everyday lives,” Caz said.
“Decarbonisation is at the core of the mission but it’s much wider than that. It’s also about the added benefits that people can get from shifting transport habits, being more active and engaged with their surroundings, and ensuring there’s a much wider demographic of women who can access that.”
Georgia and Caz hope to see the campaign reach one million women across the country by the end of 2024.
As engagement with the campaign naturally grows, Loud Mobility is also working with brand partners, local authorities, media organisations and community partners to increase the campaign’s scale.
“It’s never been more important to stop this rhetoric that more research, high-tech data, or solutions are needed. We have the solutions, and we know what the barriers are. The time is now to start doing it and that’s what ‘She’s Electric’ is about,” Georgia said.
“We need to mobilise that collaboration to deliver real results and actually get women on bikes.”
Both Caz and Georgia have already managed to make a prominent mark within the new mobility sector, and they believe that ‘She’s Electric’ has a unique appeal which stands out in the industry.
“We have the professional experience as individuals. But we also occupy a space that says fun is enough. It doesn’t need to be complicated, and it doesn’t need to be about data. It can just be about people having the opportunity to have good experiences.
“Sustainable transport doesn’t need to be associated with disaster if you don’t take part, even though that’s a driving force for our work because we understand how critical it is,” Georgia said.
To celebrate their new partnership, Georgia and Caz will be cycling from London to the International Cargo Bike Festival and Fully Charged Live Europe events in Amsterdam this month, where they will be guest speakers.
For the pair, it’s not about time or distance. It’s about enjoying the journey.
“Where do we see stories about women just having a great trip by e-cycle, having a laugh, seeing things they wouldn’t have seen?” Georgia said.
“This is a story I haven’t seen told.”
