Against period poverty
According to Plan International’s survey, especially people who are outside working life are impacted by period poverty in Finland. The survey reveals that especially respondents aged 15 to 24 often struggle to afford menstrual pads. Nearly a third of respondents report having to extend the use of pads beyond recommended time due to their price, despite the associated health risks.
International business students Tecla Nyaguthii, Nadira Sultana, Ivett Ezer, Sofia Valina and Isana Dougherty recognized a gap in women's menstrual health and hygiene services in Finland. Collaborating, they devised a business concept named Ailune, aimed at providing monthly subscription-based menstrual product dispensers to various organizations. These pads are made from responsibly sourced organic cotton. The pads would be free of charge to end-users, ensuring accessibility and affordability for all.
“When your period starts, it’s always kind of an emergency and if the pads would be freely accessible in public washrooms, you wouldn’t have to panic and go somewhere to buy them. An extra trip to supermarket could mean missing a lecture or being late for work which means trouble. If the same problem affected both men and women, it would have already been solved a long time ago in private and public sectors”, Nyaguthii pictures.
An underestimated problem
The women of Ailune have encountered some period shame and belittling of period poverty during their startup journey.
“A couple of people laughed to our business presentation at our entrepreneurship course. I’m sure that the taboo nature of the topic and the trivialization of the problem can certainly be frustrating, but I think it also keeps us motivated. I hope that our dispensers will improve the equality on this matter so much that the topic normalizes and there's no need to talk about it in the future”, Sultana says.
The students believe Finland and especially Lahti to be a good place to begin a startup. They’ve received support from LAB’s teachers, StartHub and LADEC.
“I walked into StartHub to pitch the idea and ask for help in shaping the business idea and they received me with open arms. They provided me with startup and entrepreneurship insights, information on membership benefits such as mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs, and about competitions they hold to encourage and support students and entrepreneurs, which I took an interest in firing enthusiasm”, Dougherty recollects.
Winning the StartHub’s Dream competition
The laughter of fellow students ceased when Ailune won the 1000-euro prize in the student category in StartHub’s Dream competition. The award gave the impetus to proceed to the pilot phase of the business idea. Currently Ailune is developing a prototype with students at the LAB Institute of Design and Fine Arts on Lahti campus.
“We aim to design a perfect product and service that meet our customer's needs as sustainably and inclusively as possible. We hope to create something that differentiates us from other dispenser businesses and incorporate as many innovative elements as possible. If there’s anyone interested in helping us with designing the technological or mechanical aspects of the pad dispenser or in providing funding or promotion, we’re excited to connect”, Dougherty says.