SHE LaunchPad

SHE is an organization that helps women jumpstart social businesses to manufacture and distribute affordable menstrual pads. Coupled with health education and advocacy, SHE helps girls and women lead more productive lives. The pads are made using SHE's patent-pending technology which turns agro-waste, specifically banana fibers, into an absorbent pad material.

To create this low-cost sustainable pad, several steps must be taken:

1. A woman acquires a loan to buy a machine and some banana fibers to make the product.
2. After the product is made, she sells it to her friends at a 30% profit margin to allow for income generation.

In many low and middle-income countries, menstruation has serious social and economic costs for women. A woman can miss up to 50 days of school or work per year due to menstruation. The lack of access to affordable sanitation pads, limited health and hygiene education, and the taboo associated with menstruation means that these women have very few resources they can turn to.

Over time, SHE hopes that women will be able to lead more productive lives and that they and their communities can continue to thrive.

Publicly available: yes
Countries where available: Rwanda