SheCycle strives to help Ugandan women Students persevere after unsuccessful pitch at MEDA competition, win larger prize
W
hen a group of Waterloo university students presented their business idea at the MEDAx pitch competition last fall, they were surprised and disappointed not to win the $5,000 prize. SheCycle aims to improve the health of Ugandan women with an antimicrobial, reusable sanitary pad. They may have got something more important than money from the MEDAx experience. They learned the value of resilience. Encouraged by the response they
received from observers at that pitch event, they tried again and landed a bigger prize. In June, they won $30,000 at the 2019 World’s Challenge Challenge held at Western University in London, ON. “Something we learned from MEDAx is, you have to just keep trying, because sometimes you won’t win, even if your idea is good,” says Anna Kuepfer, a member of SheCycle. SheCycle wants to improve Ugandan women’s menstrual health. Only 30 per cent of Ugandan women use menstrual hygiene products. The
majority use potentially dangerous options such as rags, dried leaves, mattress foam or newspaper to fashion pads or tampons. Tetanus, kidney and urinary tract infections result from poor menstrual hygiene. This leads to school absenteeism, lower education, earlier pregnancy and other barriers to breaking the cycle of poverty. Across Africa, one in 10 girls skip school due to periods. Water-based infections caused by bacteria in improperly dried menstrual pads are a major contributor to this problem.
SheCycle team members, l-r: Anna Kuepfer, Abigail Loewen and Leah Wouda 19
The Marketplace November December 2019
