This Menstrual Hygiene Day, make your Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) spend work for young women – and your business. By directing your B-BBEE funds towards impactful, scalable initiatives like our partnership with Blossom Care Solutions, you can address period poverty, empower young women, and meet critical Sustainability and Transformation goals.
Tackling Period Poverty Through ESD: Our Partnership with Blossom Care Solutions
At Decusatio Impact Investment Solutions, we are proud to work alongside Blossom Care Solutions – a proudly South African social enterprise that equips and empowers young women through sanitary pad production and entrepreneurship. Blossom not only provides the opportunity to distribute sanitary products, it also provides valuable training and education sessions for schools and other beneficiaries, helping to break the stigma around this subject.
Through this partnership, we help businesses like yours allocate ESD funding in a way that drives real, measurable change while aligning with your B-BBEE scorecard and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Sustainability goals.
What is Menstrual Hygiene Day?
Menstrual Hygiene Day, observed annually on May 28, is a global initiative coordinated by WASH United. It shines a light on the critical importance of menstrual health and hygiene and works to break the stigma and silence surrounding menstruation.
For millions of girls and women around the world – and here in South Africa – menstruation can be a barrier to education, dignity, and economic opportunity. Menstrual Hygiene Day is an opportunity for government, business, and civil society to work together to change this narrative.
What is Period Poverty?
Period poverty refers to the lack of access to sanitary products, menstrual hygiene education, toilets, handwashing facilities, and/or waste management. In South Africa, it is estimated that 30% of girls miss school during their menstrual cycle due to the inability to afford sanitary pads.
This has far-reaching implications: it disrupts education, deepens gender inequality, and impacts long-term health and economic outcomes. Period poverty is not just a health issue – it’s a social justice issue. But it’s one your business can help solve.
Activate Your Workforce: Co-Fund with Your Staff
Your ESD contribution doesn’t have to stop with your procurement team or scorecard submission. You can bring your entire workforce into the story.
Decusatio Impact Investment Solutions – in conjunction with Blossom Care – helps companies activate employee giving campaigns where staff can donate funds to support sanitary pad distribution or pad manufacturing projects. Companies can then match staff contributions rand-for-rand, doubling the impact. These activations not only build team spirit and internal engagement – they also demonstrate your company’s commitment to gender equality and community upliftment in a tangible, visible way.
Aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Investing in menstrual hygiene and sanitary pad manufacturing contributes to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a key consideration for ESG-aligned businesses and investors. Here’s how this initiative supports your sustainability strategy:
- SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Access to menstrual products reduces health risks associated with unsafe alternatives and poor hygiene.
- SDG 4: Quality Education – When girls can manage their periods with dignity, school absenteeism drops, and educational outcomes improve.
- SDG 5: Gender Equality – Supporting menstrual hygiene is a direct investment in women’s rights and empowerment.
- SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – By investing in communities that lack access to menstrual products and education, your business helps level the playing field.
Make Your B-BBEE Spend Count This Menstrual Hygiene Day
South Africa’s transformation agenda is not just about compliance – it’s about creating shared value. Your ESD spend can build businesses, empower women, improve health outcomes, and reduce inequality. By partnering with Impact Investment Solutions and Blossom Care Solutions, you’re doing more than spending – you’re investing in a better future.
This Menstrual Hygiene Day, let’s turn your B-BBEE funding into a force for dignity and development.
Ready to get started? Contact Decusatio Impact Investment Solutions to explore how your ESD spend can help fight period poverty, empower young women, and drive long-term impact.
