We’ve been running clixi in Dharamshala for a couple of months now, and one day last month, I was sitting in a quaint little cafe in Dharamshala, watching people hop on and off buses and cars at Kotwali Bazaar. Every second person seemed to be headed somewhere to buy something. Groceries, fabric, furniture, sweets, medicines, chappals, or anything you name. And if it wasn’t that, then people were going into salons, cafes, or restaurants.
And that’s when it hit me: mobility in small towns isn’t just about reaching somewhere, it’s the literal driver of the local economy.
Think about it. In metros, people move for work. But in small towns, they move for commerce. Every trip is a potential transaction; a sale for a shopkeeper, a meal for a café, a service for a salon.
So when we started Clixi, we didn’t just make moving around easier. We also kick-started an unconscious effort to make local economies move faster.
Local Markets Are Running Out of Time
We live in a world where Blinkit brings you groceries in 10 minutes and Zepto is competing with your neighbourhood shop aunty. It’s fast, efficient, and incredibly convenient, and I am an absolute sucker for their service.
But it’s also slowly hollowing out the heart of small-town India that lies in local markets.
In places like Dharamshala, Palampur, and Kangra, or any other small town in the country, local markets aren’t just commercial centres. They’re where conversations happen, where you connect with your community, where gossip and groceries come in the same bag. Losing them means losing community.
And the truth is that these local businesses don’t lack passion or products.
They lack infrastructure, digital access, and reach.
That’s the gap I want to bridge. Not through another e-commerce app (god knows I’ve thought about a hundred of them), but through mobility itself.
Commerce Meets Commute
The day after my epiphany-laced visit to the cafe, I sat with our clixi ride data to confirm my hypothesis, and truly enough:
Most Clixi ride requests weren’t to offices or residences; they were to markets.
People weren’t booking cabs to “go somewhere.” They were booking them to shop somewhere.
So, what if every ride could also become a small act of local commerce?
That’s where Clixi Coins and Coupons were born. A simple idea that connects the joy of movement with the power of money spent locally.
The Clixi Loop: You Ride. You Earn. You Support Local.
Here’s how it works.
Every time a user books a ride, verifies it, and reviews the pilot, they earn Clixi Coins.
These coins aren’t just digital dust. They can be exchanged for discount coupons from over 150+ GST-registered local businesses ranging from cafés and clothing stores to salons, bakeries and chemists.
You take a ride, collect coins, and use them to get a discount at your favourite shop.
Simple, circular, and ridiculously satisfying.
We’re now hosting over 3,500 riders, growing almost 2x month-on-month, and already have about 15% of all local cabs in the region on Clixi.
The more people move, the more local businesses benefit.
And the more local businesses benefit, the more they tell people to “Take a Clixi.”
That’s how a loop becomes an ecosystem.
The Bigger Picture
When we talk about how “developed” a region is, we often mention:
- Ease of communication (networks, internet, etc.)
- Access to basic amenities (healthcare, schools)
- Infrastructure that supports livelihoods
But the biggest, most underrated one? Ease of commute.
If people can move, goods can move.
If goods can move, businesses grow.
And when businesses grow, the whole town rises with them.
Mobility is not an afterthought in development; it’s the foundation.
At its core, Clixi isn’t just a taxi app.
It’s a bridge between mobility and opportunity, between small-town dreams and a digital future that doesn’t leave them behind.
We’re not trying to be the next Uber. We’re trying to be the first Clixi. A system designed for India’s small towns, where commerce, commute, and community are all parts of the same journey.
Because here in the mountains, a ride isn’t just a ride.
It’s a ripple that carries the whole town forward.