18 hours Ago By Valerie Martin
Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to NorthernIrelandWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. Katrina Hutchinson-O’Neill, founder and CEO of hyper-growth embedded recruitment solutions business Join Talent, is one of 50 female British entrepreneurs involved in a charity race in colourful three-wheeled vehicles from Chennai to Goa as part of The Sisterhood Rickshaw Rally. The group is aiming to hit the goal of raising £350,000 to support projects in Chennai to empower women and girls, including the construction of safe, weather-resistant classrooms.
Advertisement Advertisement They have also been creating inspiring content along the route, discussing many aspects of female entrepreneurship, business and female advocacy. Katrina said that by “combining adventure with purpose they are proving the power of collective action”. "This is more than a rally, it’s a chapter in the sisterhood movement which is relentlessly seeking to transform lives and create brighter futures for girls and women who need it most,” she said.
Katrina said that as in India fewer than seven per cent of drivers are female, and just 0.1 per cent of tuk tuk drivers are women, “it felt like a pretty fitting way to make our point”. Advertisement Advertisement The team encountered all kinds of adventures during the race, including spectacular and challenging landscapes, fascinating people and mechanical conundrums.
On the second day, they ran into bother when some poorly-tightened wheel nuts caused a wheel on the tuk tuk to fly off along the road. "Thanks to some help from the support truck, our team were back on the road in no time, having found our wheel in the middle of a field,” said Katrina. “The stoppage also allowed us to spend some time with a local family who lived in a makeshift house at the side of the road, where we were able to find out a little bit about their daily lives.
” Katrina’s drive to support other women and their aspirations stems from her first-hand experiences when starting her own business. Advertisement Advertisement While Join Talent has grown hugely over the past five years, Katrina feels more support should be available for female entrepreneurs. "This race, and other work I am doing, is aimed at supporting as many women across the UK and around the world as possible,” she said.
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