Ashesi Students Win Africa Business Concept Challenge for Low-Cost Menstrual Hygiene Product Design
In summary:
During her time as a teacher in Tsekucha, Benue state, Nigeria, Faith Labija, now a Mastercard Foundation Scholar at Ashesi, saw how lack of access to menstrual hygiene products affected the students she taught. She learned that a primary driver for this was that students could not afford existing products on the Nigerian market. In her first year on campus she founded ChuChu Softies — which makes much more affordable menstrual hygiene products — to help address the issue.
In 2022, she and her partner Anne Achieng Alwala ’25 emerged among the top 15 winners from a pool of over 500 startups across 58 African countries in the African Impact Initiative Challenge. Earlier this year, they were also named winners of the Global Business School Network’s Africa Business Concept Challenge (ABCC).
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After senior high school, Faith Chuby Labija '25 took a gap year and started teaching at a school in Tsekucha, Benue state, Nigeria. During this time, she better understood how the lack of menstrual hygiene products affected girls and young women in schools. She noticed that girls in her class would miss school because they had no access to proper sanitary products during their menstrual periods. She also found out that at home, most girls resorted to using unsafe alternatives such as newspapers, cloth and tissue, which increased the risk of infections.
"I found it very worrying," shared Faith. "Sanitary pads cost about 400 Naira, which isn’t affordable for most girls. I tried reusable pads after my sister brought some home and got the idea to create more affordable ones to help the girls in my school."
When Faith came to Ashesi as a Mastercard Foundation Scholar in 2021, she presented ChuChu Softies — her idea for an affordable sanitary pad business — for her first-year Design and Entrepreneurship class. With Mentorship from the Ashesi Entrepreneurship Center, Faith entered the African Impact Initiative Challenge in August 2022, where she emerged among the top 15 winners from a pool of over 500 startups across 58 African countries and 1000 founders. This came along with funding, mentorship, and other benefits.
"The menstrual health challenge is often overlooked in Africa," added Faith. "Our goal is to partner with funders and NGOs to ensure that every little girl in a corner in Africa, starting with Nigeria, has access to proper sanitary products."
In April 2023, ChuChu Softies was announced as the winner of the Africa Business Concept Challenge (ABCC). Faith and her partner, Anne, competed against 87 teams from 58 universities across 17 African countries. The ABCC challenges student teams to develop a viable business concept that addresses a locally relevant challenge or problem related to Agenda 2063 and inclusive and sustainable development.
"I envision ChuChu Softies becoming more than just a sanitary pad brand," added Faith about the future of the business. "My hope is for ChuChu to become a sanitation company and for us to adopt other products like soap that advance sanitation."
