The Story Exchange is an award-winning nonprofit media organization that provides inspiration and information to entrepreneurial women.

Sign up for our biweekly newsletter!

Filipa Carreira: Affordable Reusable Menstrual Pads

“I realized that gender dynamics and menstrual hygiene was largely neglected by many NGO projects working in health and sanitation sectors.”

96Victoria Flexner
By Victoria Flexner

This story is part of our 1,000+ Stories campaign. What’s your story?

Name: Filipa Carreira

Business: Wamina 

Location: Maputo, Mozambique

Industry: Healthcare, Wellness & Fitness 

Reason for starting? While doing freelance work as a social-performance analysis consultant, I realized that gender dynamics and menstrual hygiene was largely neglected by many NGO projects working in health and sanitation sectors. After doing a self-funded baseline study on menstrual hygiene in high schools in Maputo, I realized that even girls living in urban areas experienced challenges managing their period and attaining fact-based information about the period. This meant two things: Girls in rural areas experience far greater challenges and need greater support, and projects in other African countries that had proven to be effective in improving menstrual hygiene could easily be adaptable to Mozambique. And I was going to pioneer this effort.

Related: Read about another entrepreneur working in women’s health here. 

How do you define success? Success is having a 12-year-old girl come up to me after a workshop and say: I want to call you when I get my period. Success is having a team that believes in your vision just as you do. Success is having to chase your team out of the office on a Friday afternoon.

Biggest success: My biggest success to date has been to deliver pads to a pilot project run by an international NGO. I want Wamina to become an African brand not only associated with menstrual hygiene but with youth and female self awareness.

What is your top challenge and how you have addressed it? My top challenge was to start a business that the people closest to me did not really understand. I addressed this challenge by just keeping on going.

Related: Women of Congress to Take on America’s Many Challenges 

Who is your most important role model? My most important role model is my younger sister who has the courage to live life in her own terms.

[box_light]Website   www.wamina.co.mz
Twitter   @waminamz 
Facebook   Facebook.com/waminamz
Instagram   @waminamz [/box_light]

Tell us your story!
Read about another entrepreneur here.

Edited by The Story Exchange