A year and half ago, when Dhiren, my co-founder and I were providing merit-based scholarships to students in rural India, we came across another problem. We found that many girls dropped out of school even after receiving financial help.
As we dug deeper, we found that the problem was a lot bigger than we’d thought. There are 300 million (that's the population of the U.S.) girls and women in rural India that miss school and work because they lack access to feminine hygiene products.
We were stunned that such a simple problem could so dramatically affect people’s lives. We had to solve this problem. We built a team in India that is working on operationalizing the business. Currently, they are working with engineers to create a machine that can produce affordable sanitary pads. Here in Chicago at the Impact Engine, the U.S. team is building the Azadi brand and a community of mentors, investors and supporters to propel the business forward.
Now we’ve reached the next chapter of our story. Investor Day is fast approaching, and our team is really cranking up the gears. Since the start of Impact Engine 9 weeks ago, so much has happened behind the 1871 doors - and we’re ready to show people what we’ve been up to.
We’ve managed to progress quite a lot on our own, but now we need your help. In order to start creating better machines and distributing them to communities in rural India, we are launching an Indiegogo campaign with a goal of raising $65,000. We’ve already raised $50,000 and will use the money from the campaign to complete the research and development of the machine.
Our vision is a world where women and girls can have greater freedom to pursue life’s opportunities. Making menstruation a non-issue is one of the stepping stones. The journey is really just beginning and we hope you can be part of the solution. Learn more about why we are tackling this problem by checking out our infographic.
Join us for the launch of our IndieGoGo campaign. We will be premiering our campaign video, and more importantly, celebrating the start of something great.
What: Azadi Launch Party
When: Wednesday, November 7, 6:30 pm
Where: 1871 @ 12th Floor of Merchandise Mart
222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza
Chicago, IL 6065.
RSVP here (www.azadilaunch.eventbrite.com)
