Girls Advancement Initiative - CycleCare
500 million women and girls worldwide do not have access to sanitary products.
Period poverty is a global issue affecting millions of girls and women. Many girls miss school because they don’t have access to sanitary products or are too ashamed to attend while on their periods. This stigma leads to them dropping out of school and limits their opportunities in life.
Also, the prevalent use of non-biodegradable disposable menstrual products, like sanitary pads and tampons, harm the environment. Their lifecycle pollutes water bodies and landfills, leading to microplastics and other environmental and health hazards.
Microplastics have been found to alter marine ecosystems and pose a serious threat to ocean biomes.
Globally, over 12 billion disposable menstrual products are used per year, filling up latrines or ending up in landfills.
Our mission is to make eco-friendly sanitary products more accessible to women and girls while simultaneously reducing the carbon footprint of feminine hygiene products. We aim to improve the overall health and well-being of girls and young women and contribute to global efforts to mitigate climate change.
Our solution is CycleCare. CycleCare - Empowering Periods, Anytime, Anywhere, and Climate-Friendly.
What It Is: CycleCare is a user-friendly mobile app designed to empower adolescent girls by helping them understand and manage their menstrual health. It provides a simple and effective way to track menstrual cycles, offers valuable educational content, and facilitates open dialogue on a range of menstrual health topics. One of its standout features is the option for users to request free sanitary products, ensuring that no girl has to compromise her health due to financial constraints.
How It Works:
Cycle Tracking: Users can easily track their menstrual cycles, record important dates, and receive notifications about their upcoming periods and ovulation. The app's intuitive interface ensures that girls can effortlessly monitor their menstrual health.
Eco-Friendly Online Shop: CycleCare aims to be the go-to platform for purchasing a wide range of eco-friendly menstrual products. Users can easily browse, select, and buy sustainable sanitary items through the app, contributing to environmental sustainability.
Request Free Sanitary Products: For users who may not be able to afford sanitary pads during menstruation, CycleCare offers a compassionate solution. They can request free sanitary products, which will be promptly delivered to them at no cost. This feature ensures that no girl has to compromise her menstrual health due to financial constraints, promoting accessibility and inclusivity.
- Interactive Q&A Platform: The app provides a dedicated space where girls can ask questions, share experiences, and seek answers from both their peers and healthcare experts. This fosters open and supportive dialogue, reducing stigma and promoting a sense of community.
Educational Content: CycleCare features a wealth of educational resources, including informative articles, engaging videos, and helpful infographics. These materials cover essential topics related to menstrual health, hygiene, and the female reproductive system, empowering users with knowledge.
Target Population: Adolescent Girls in Underserved Communities in West Africa
Who They Are: These are young girls, typically aged 10 to 19, living in low- and middle-income countries like Togo, Benin, Liberia etc. and facing financial constraints. They may lack access to comprehensive menstrual health education and sustainable menstrual products. They often endure cultural stigmas surrounding menstruation, which can affect their self-esteem and overall well-being.
Ways They Are Currently Underserved:
- Limited Access to Education: Many adolescent girls lack access to comprehensive menstrual health education, leaving them uninformed about their bodies, menstrual hygiene, and the importance of menstrual health.
- Financial Constraints: High costs of menstrual products render them unaffordable for many, forcing girls to use unsuitable and unhygienic alternatives.
- Stigmatization: Cultural taboos and stigma surrounding menstruation create an environment of shame, secrecy, and limited discussion about menstrual health.
How the Solution Addresses Their Needs: CycleCare directly addresses the needs of these underserved adolescent girls in the following ways:
Access to Menstrual Education: It provides comprehensive menstrual health education through informative articles, videos, and infographics, empowering girls with knowledge about their bodies and menstrual hygiene.
Sustainable Menstrual Products: The app serves as an eco-friendly online shop, offering a wide range of affordable and sustainable menstrual products. This addresses the issue of high costs and promotes eco-friendly choices.
Free Sanitary Product Request: For those who cannot afford menstrual products, CycleCare offers a compassionate solution. Users can request free sanitary products, ensuring that no girl has to compromise her health due to financial constraints.
Reduction of Stigma: By fostering open dialogue and providing a supportive community, CycleCare reduces the stigma and shame associated with menstruation, promoting a positive view of girls' bodies and their menstrual health.
Our team is well-positioned to deliver the CycleCare solution to the target population for several compelling reasons:
Proximity to the Communities:
1. Founder's Background: Our founder is a female UX designer and mobile app developer who was born in Accra, Ghana. She has firsthand experience growing up in a community called Hohoe where many of her friends missed school due to period poverty. This personal experience led her to create Girls Advancement Initiative.
Diverse Team Composition:
2. Expertise in Relevant Fields: Our team comprises experts in various fields, including health, education, environment, and technology. Each member brings a unique perspective and skill set to ensure the success of the CycleCare app.
Community-Centric Approach:
3. Understanding the Needs: We actively engage with the communities we serve to understand their unique needs and challenges. Our founder's upbringing and her close connection to girls who have experienced period poverty ensure that our solutions are rooted in real-world experiences.
4. Community Input: The design and implementation of CycleCare are meaningfully guided by input, ideas, and agendas from the communities we serve. We involve the target population in focus groups, surveys, and feedback sessions to ensure that the app meets their needs and expectations.
- Prioritize infrastructure centered around young people to enhance young people’s access to SRH information, commodities and services.
- Ghana
- Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model, but which is not yet serving anyone
CycleCare has progressed beyond the conceptual stage and can be classified as a prototype for the following reasons:
Prototype Development: We have designed and built a functional prototype of the CycleCare mobile app. The prototype represents the core features and functionalities of the app, including menstrual cycle tracking, educational content, an interactive Q&A platform, and the option to request free sanitary products.
User Testing: We are actively conducting user testing with girls in the community. This real-world testing phase involves girls using the prototype to track their menstrual cycles, access educational content, and engage with the app's features. The feedback and insights we gather from these users are instrumental in refining and improving the app's user-friendliness and overall effectiveness.
App prototype images attached below:
1. Intuitive User Experience: The app is designed with a user-centric approach, ensuring that it's incredibly intuitive and easy to use. This is particularly essential for young girls who may not be tech-savvy or well-educated. CycleCare uses mobile technology to create a visually appealing and user-friendly interface, making menstrual health management simple and accessible.
2. Access to Free Sanitary Products: CycleCare is making sanitary products accessible by being the first in the market to offer users the ability to request free sanitary products. This is achieved through a user-friendly in-app interface that streamlines the process of requesting and receiving essential menstrual items. The use of mobile technology facilitates efficient tracking and delivery.
3. Mitigating Carbon Footprint: Users can shop for sustainable menstrual products, thus reducing the carbon footprint associated with conventional feminine hygiene products. This promotes eco-conscious choices and aligns with global sustainability goals.
4. E-commerce Shop: CycleCare is a pioneer as the first mobile app to create an e-commerce platform exclusively for both only female and only eco-friendly menstrual products. This innovative use of technology allows users to easily pick, purchase, and have sanitary products delivered to their doorstep. It enhances accessibility to eco-friendly products, encouraging users to make more sustainable choices.
Impact Goals for the Next Year:
Goal: Provide menstrual health support to 10,000 adolescent girls in underserved communities in Ghana within the first year.
- How: Actively promote CycleCare to target communities, conduct awareness campaigns, and partner with local organizations to ensure broad adoption.
Goal: Reduce period poverty by supplying 20,000 free sanitary products to girls in need.
- How: Strengthen partnerships with manufacturers and NGOs, and optimize the in-app request and distribution process.
Goal: Facilitate eco-friendly choices by achieving 15,000 sustainable product sales through the app.
- How: Expand the product catalogue, highlight eco-friendly options, and invite businesses selling such products to join the app.
Impact Goals for the Next Five Years:
Goal: Expand the reach to benefit 500,000 adolescent girls and young women within West Africa.
- How: Scale up marketing and awareness campaigns, collaborate with international NGOs, and offer the app in multiple languages to enhance accessibility.
Goal: Supply 1 million free sanitary products to girls in underserved regions, significantly reducing period poverty.
- How: Strengthen partnerships with global organizations, manufacturers, and donors, and streamline the request and distribution process.
Goal: Promote sustainable menstruation practices and achieve 500,000 sustainable product sales.
- How: Partner with eco-conscious brands, incorporate environmental impact tracking within the app, and raise awareness of the environmental benefits of eco-friendly products.
Goal: Foster menstrual health education for 750,000 users.
- How: Expand the educational content library, promote user engagement in educational forums, and collaborate with educators and health experts.
Goal: Achieve user engagement, feedback, and satisfaction scores that consistently exceed industry standards.
- How: Continuously improve the app based on user feedback, expand community engagement, and introduce innovative features to enhance user satisfaction.
Longer-term success is enabling our girls to go to school even during their menstrual periods because they do not lack menstrual pads.
Longer-term success is providing over 500 million women and girls with sanitary products and eradicating period poverty.
Longer-term success is creating job opportunities and supporting local economies.
Theory of Change:
Activities: CycleCare provides a user-friendly mobile app that combines menstrual cycle tracking, educational content, community support, an eco-friendly shop, and a free sanitary product request feature.
Outputs: Users have easy access to menstrual health education, the ability to track their cycles, purchase eco-friendly products, and request free sanitary items when needed.
Outcomes:
- Improved Knowledge: Through educational resources, users gain a better understanding of their bodies, menstrual health, and hygiene practices.
- Reduced Stigma: The community forum fosters open dialogue, reducing societal taboos and normalizing conversations about menstruation.
- Empowerment: Users can actively manage their menstrual health, fostering a sense of control and self-confidence.
- Accessibility: The request feature ensures that even those with financial constraints have access to sanitary products.
- Sustainability: The eco-friendly shop promotes sustainable menstrual product choices, reducing the carbon footprint.
Impact:
By providing accessible and sustainable menstrual health support, CycleCare aims to transform the lives of adolescent girls and young women. It reduces stigma, empowers users with knowledge, and ensures that no girl has to compromise her health due to financial constraints. CycleCare's inclusive and educational approach changes the narrative around menstruation, promotes sustainability, and supports the well-being and participation of girls and women in society. The app catalyzes a positive shift in behaviors, reduces period poverty, and contributes to a healthier and more environmentally responsible future.
- Ghana
- Benin
- Cameroon
- Chad
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Eswatini
- Gabon
- Gambia, The
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Kenya
- Liberia
- Mali
- Nigeria
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- South Africa
- Togo
- Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit
Full time staff - 2
Volunteers - 10
2 years
Diverse Leadership:
- The founder and leader of our organization is a young woman from an underserved community in Ghana. Her personal experiences and understanding of the challenges faced by adolescent girls and young women drive the organization's mission.
Team Diversity:
- Our team consists of individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and expertise, including health, education, environment, and technology. We value the contributions of each team member.
Inclusivity in Design:
- The app is designed with inclusivity in mind. It's user-friendly and accessible to individuals with various backgrounds and abilities. We prioritize clear language and user-friendly design to ensure that all users can benefit from the app.
Accessibility Features:
- CycleCare is being developed with accessibility features to accommodate users with disabilities. This includes screen reader compatibility and adjustable font sizes.
Local and Global Focus:
- We are dedicated to addressing the needs of adolescent girls and young women, whether in underserved communities in Ghana or globally. We actively seek input from local communities to shape our solutions.
Continuous Learning:
- We are committed to continuous learning and improvement in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We actively seek feedback from users, conduct surveys, and engage with communities to address their specific needs and concerns.
Community Engagement:
- The CycleCare app fosters a sense of community, providing a platform for users to share their experiences, ask questions, and support one another. We are dedicated to creating an inclusive and supportive environment for all.
As a social enterprise, our business model is designed to provide value to the populations we serve while generating revenue to sustain and expand our impact. Here's an overview of our business model:
Key Customers and Beneficiaries:
- Users: Adolescent girls and young women who use the CycleCare app to manage their menstrual health, access educational resources, engage with the community, and purchase eco-friendly menstrual products.
- Donors and Partners: Organizations, donors, and philanthropic partners who support our mission to provide free sanitary products to underserved populations and promote menstrual health education.
Products and Services:
- CycleCare App: We provide a comprehensive mobile application that offers menstrual cycle tracking, educational content, community support, an eco-friendly shop, and the ability to request free sanitary products.
- Educational Resources: Users have access to a library of educational materials related to menstrual health, hygiene, and the female reproductive system.
- Community Support: The app includes a forum where users can engage in discussions, ask questions, and share experiences.
- Eco-Friendly Shop: Users can browse and purchase a wide range of sustainable menstrual products through the in-app shop.
- Request Free Sanitary Products: We offer a streamlined process for users to request free sanitary products when needed.
Value Proposition:
- For Users: CycleCare offers a holistic solution to menstrual health management, empowering users with knowledge, promoting sustainability, and ensuring accessibility to essential sanitary products.
- For Donors and Partners: We provide a platform for donors and partners to make a direct and positive impact on the lives of adolescent girls and young women, reducing period poverty and promoting menstrual health.
Revenue Generation:
- While our primary focus is on social impact, we generate revenue through the eco-friendly shop within the app. 15% of the proceeds from product sales is reinvested to support the provision of free sanitary products and the sustainability of our mission.
Sustainability:
- By combining impact-driven initiatives with revenue-generating opportunities, we aim to create a sustainable and scalable model that ensures the long-term availability of menstrual health support and education for underserved communities.
- Individual consumers or stakeholders (B2C)
Our plan for becoming financially sustainable involves a combination of revenue streams and funding sources. Here's how we intend to achieve financial sustainability:
Eco-Friendly Shop Revenue: The primary source of revenue for the Girls Advancement Initiative will be the eco-friendly shop within the CycleCare app. By offering a wide range of sustainable menstrual products, we will generate income from product sales. A portion of the proceeds from these sales will be reinvested into supporting our core mission, ensuring that our revenue streams directly contribute to our social impact initiatives.
Donations and Grants: We will actively seek donations and grants from organizations, foundations, and philanthropic partners who share our mission of improving menstrual health and reducing period poverty. These funds will be used to support the provision of free sanitary products to underserved populations and to expand the reach of CycleCare.
Strategic Partnerships: We will explore partnerships with organizations and companies that align with our values and mission. Collaborations may involve co-branded sustainable product offerings or initiatives to promote menstrual health. These partnerships can provide financial support and resources to sustain and expand our work.
User Contributions: While the core features of CycleCare are offered for free, we may introduce optional premium features or in-app purchases that enhance the user experience. These contributions will provide an additional source of income.
Social Impact Investment: As we demonstrate the effectiveness and scalability of our model, we may seek social impact investment from impact-driven investors who share our commitment to menstrual health and sustainability.
Leveraging Grants for Growth: We will actively pursue grants and funding opportunities that support expansion, research, and development. These grants can be used to strengthen the impact of our initiatives and increase financial sustainability.
