Dripbox.

We will produce locally affordable, eco-friendly products for women and girls in Sierra Leone and Rwanda and also provide vital menstrual health education.

 We will provide affordable, eco-friendly sanitary pads made from abandoned banana pseudostems. Our pads will be plastic, irritation, and rash-free and will decompose quickly and free of harmful chemicals. We also make sure that the packaging and disposal wrappers of these pads are biodegradable as well.

Our solution encompasses the triple bottom line effect in which we are focused on profit, the people, and the planet. In this capitalist world, we need money to perform well financially in order to effect positive change and this is why we will be selling our pads to the market.

The people:   Our buy one give one initiative at Dripbox which is a means to support our social initiative called Caring for girls. Also, since we will be producing our pads locally, we are creating jobs for women in Freetown thereby boosting employment. Our pads are organic so they are safer to use for our health and highly absorbent.

The planet: pads are made from 100% biodegradable and compostable materials that are eco-friendly as they decompose within six months. 

According to research, nearly 70% of women in Freetown use Sanitary pads compared to 48% that use sanitary pads in the rural areas of Sierra Leone. If we roughly take the number of sanitary pads used per menstrual cycle as eight, over 12.3 billion disposable sanitary pads are generated every year. The disposal of such plastic pads has become a huge concern. In our recent menstrual hygiene management outreach program, many of the school teachers and principals complain to us about the disposal problems of sanitary pads by girls in the school.

According to Menstrual Health Alliance India, one sanitary pad could take 500 to 800 years to decompose as the plastic used is non-biodegradable and can lead to health and environmental hazards because of its high environmental footprint. Most of these pads have over 90 percent plastics and each pad is equivalent to four plastic bags.

Not only are these products harmful to the environment, but the plastic in sanitary pads can also cause health problems such as urinary tract infection, rashes, and genital tract infection. There is a high chance of getting fungal infections or pelvic infections that can lead to allergies and irritation in the vaginal area. The problem with this is that most women and girls are also not exposed to enough information or knowledge about the possibilities of these due to lack of education on how to maintain menstrual hygiene.

We are targeting women and girls between the age of 12- 40 yrs old that are menstruating so they can switch from unhealthy, expensive pads to our organic, affordable pads. These pads will be cheaper than normal pads since they will be produced locally, and it will be a healthier choice because they will no longer have to deal with infections acquired from plastic sanitary pads. It is also a plus knowing that you are preserving the environment for the future generation when you buy your pads from us 

we will also target girls underprivileged women and girls between that age bracket for our buy one, give one initiative via caring for girls with a focus on the rural areas of Sierra leone. Through our programs and donations, we can keep many girls in school while educating them on how to maintain menstrual hygiene

At Dripbox, we are user-focused; hence we have conducted multiple research using different mediums to understand what the market needs and how we can better serve them. Our initial solution was to manufacture reusable washable pads and sell them to women and girls in Sierra Leone. However, from our research and focus groups, we realized that 80% of women do not use reusable pads and will not opt into using them because they are scared of bacterial infection that might result from reusing the pads and were terrified of the idea of having to wash their bloody pads monthly. 

This means people preferred disposable so why not make it healthy and environmentally friendly? We also found out that in rural areas, water scarcity is an issue and the girls complained that they do not use the reusable pads we donated because they cannot buy water to wash them or have access to soap - as they will opt in to buy the normal pads instead.

The social initiative Caring for girls is established but Dripbox is a new concept and business that will support the programs at Caring for girls. We choose the stage because our idea is still in the phase of Market research and developing a product that will best address the needs of the populations. 

We have spent the past six months working with partner organizations, manufacturers, women, and girls doing direct and indirect research. We have concluded on the need and feasibility of the product and are now ready to take our idea to the next stage!

We tested our reusable pads in the Magburaka and Makeni town of Sierra Leone and got feedback which was mentioned in the above responses. We will also be testing our product ( biodegradable pads) in that same region as well to see whether it was an improvement from the reusable ones we donated. We will also be doing product testing in Freetown as we are trying to monopolize the market as the go-to sanitary pads in Sierra Leone. 

We will be providing biodegradable, plastic-free, and chemical-free pads. The pads will be produced from biodegradable banana fiber that is extracted from agro-waste to produce the fiber that is used in the creation of the pads. 

Our pads will be made of three components : 

The top layer will be made from bamboo which is soft and is a naturally antibacterial 

The absorbent core will be made from banana fiber which is super absorbent and the back layer will be made from corn starch which is a natural alternative to plastic. Our pads will be 100% biodegradable.  

In the future, as we expand our business, we hope to use smart-tech to provide personalized period care for women and girls in the future from our range of 100% organic period care products and symptoms targeted PMS solutions. We will provide convenient product delivery and content personalization so they are more aware of their wellbeing using a tech-driven approach. 

With the support of this challenge, we hope to serve 5,000 women and girls in the next year and possibly expand to more in the coming years.

Launch our biodegradable compostable pads as an alternative to plastic sanitary pads thereby reducing plastic waste and protecting the environment, and also providing women organic healthy products that will prevent them from getting infections or allergies.

Saturate the market with our pads and convert over 5000 women to a more eco-friendly and healthier method of managing their periods by using our various social media platforms to educate, inform and sensitize the public 

Support just as many underprivileged women and girls with menstrual health management resources and education thereby keeping them in school with our buy one and give one initiative through caring for girls. 

Catering to the whole menstrual experience of women by providing subscription services to women along with PMS symptoms products customized towards their needs and provided at the right time. 

Boost empowerment of women in Sierra Leone and Rwanda  

The above-mentioned goals will be measured by: 

Monitoring the pre and post usage of our pads - whether there were any complaints of infections or not.

The number of people who make the switch from plastic sanitary pads to our organic pads. 

How many girls were able to stay in school through our buy one give one initiative 

The number of women that have a positive menstruation process with regards to our subscription services. 

measuring how many women are able to provide for themselves and their families through our employment. A study of the before and after. 

The biggest barrier that exists for us to accomplish our goals within the next year is the lack of financial resources. our funds are very limited to undergo the manufacturing (equipment needed) of our pads. We will also need funds to employ staff in the production of the pads. 

Cultural: This is not necessarily a barrier but might be an obstacle as people are not yet very educated on biodegradable products and the process of recycling especially when it comes to products consumed by women. There might be some education and sensitization needed to garner the trust of the public. 

We are a Women-led Venture as all the members of the team are women between the age of 18-25yrs old. This is an advantage as we have all experienced the challenges that come with managing our periods and are passionate about creating change for us and for other women.

As the founder and CEO, currently pursuing a BSC in public health along with a verse experience working for NGOs that tackle health and wellness issues for women and girls equips me with the right skills and experience for the job. Our team is also made up of a product designer, business savvy, and a marketing young professional - All of whom are members of the African Leadership group. This means we are exposed to a large network of Africans with the possibility of expanding our product to other African countries.

 Currently, Dripbox is partnered with Caring for Girls from which we deliver all our programs and projects related to MHM and sexual reproductive health education. 

Through this partnership, we have also included three (3) Gynecologist and medical student associations to develop an MHM manual for the implementation of the MHM-friendly schools in Sierra Leone - A program we hope to extend to Rwanda. 

We are also developing partnerships with farmers that have large banana plantation in Sierra Leone and Rwanda for the manufacturing of our pads 

I do not qualify as I am above 18yrs old 

I am qualified for the Pozen innovation challenge because my project involves improving the lives of women and girls in our targeted location. Through our programs and project, we are meeting the environmental, social, educational needs of women and girls in Sierra Leone. 

The Pozen prize will allow expanding our solution to providing subscription services that will allow up to use of technology to personalize the menstrual need of women and allow our pads deliver right to their door at the right time. Through this expansion, we will also cater to all other aspects of the menstrual experience by offering personalized product recommendations, science-backed health content, sustainable and healthy period and menstrual care products, plus letterbox delivery. 

we want to provide options for women when it comes to high quality, organic period care products,  essentials spanning skincare, and  PMS essentials that will be delivered right to their door