Five female sanitary towel entrepreneurs

Tembisa resident, Eva Lethabe (24) is one of the women empowered by Mimi (Swahili for ‘I am’), a sanitary towel company which has announced the graduation of its first five female entrepreneurs from disadvantaged communities.

They graduated from Mimi’s six-month Pads and Cents course on how to run, manage and market a small business, which is sponsored by SA Breweries.

Lethabe, a social worker, said when she was young her mother ran a small business and she learned a great deal from that experience. “The Mimi values and business model fit in completely with my desire to help other people. I also work with a social betterment group for young children, educating them to one day run their own businesses,” she said.

The woman behind Mimi, Ramona Kasavan, a social entrepreneur and media personality said she started the initiative because she was shocked to discover the plight of millions of South African girls who did not have basic items such as sanitary towels.

Kasavan explained the Mimi business model. “Female entrepreneurs are appointed around the country as area leaders overseeing five defined sectors, which are each headed by a woman entrepreneur. These women area leaders are responsible for distributing sanitary towels to schools and other businesses within their sector,” she said.

“They will acquire a delivery scooter, five vending machines and an incinerator. Three-wheeler tuk-tuks will collect the sanitary waste from schools’ ‘sanibins’ for the safe disposal of sanitary pads, which will be burned, using an eco-friendly incinerator. The drivers will also regularly restock vending machines with Mimi pads.

“We have donated pads to seven provinces, including Gauteng,” she explained.