She is the brains behind Glory girl pads

Everyone has a dream. There are people who have ambitions to become lawyers, teachers, or priests. Yasinta Ntuyeko’s parents wanted their daughter to become an engineer. They sent her to St Joseph College of Engineering Technology where she graduated in 2010 with a degree in Information System and Network Engineering.

While she was looking for a job, Yasinta’s aunt opted to give her a start-up capital of Sh60, 000. She advised her to buy women sanitary pads, known as Leonurus Pads, and some cosmetics to sell. Her aunt connected her to a friend who was also in the same business and used to import the products from Kenya.

“I went to her shop at Mbagala Kuu to take the products which I would sell in schools, colleges, and at shops in Mwenge. Business was so good that it got to a point when my supply couldn’t meet  my clients’ demands,” says the 28-year-old lady.

In 2011, she got a loan of Sh4 million from her brother and went to Mombasa to get more products. Unfortunately, Leonurus Pads ran out of stock and she started dealing in a different brand. The consumer information was written in Chinese and clients weren’t satisfied.

 “I took the complaints from my clients as a challenge and decided to look for raw materials that would make wonderful sanitary towels. With no proper resources of information, I decided to go online to find out first about bamboo charcoal and the companies that manufactured bamboo charcoal products,” said Yasinta.

Looking for answers

She started attending doctors’ forums and consulting with gynaecologists about this product and it turned out that most of them were hearing about it for the first time.

“I have gone to Mewata and Ministry of Health, done the usual paperwork. The procedures in government offices drag because of bureaucracy and if you are an up and coming entrepreneur, you may not have the luxury of time. The best the Ministry of Health did was to encourage me to pursue this business after realising that the products had no side effects,” says the second-born in a family of four.

Dubbed the “amazing black diamond” by Japanese, bamboo is harvested abundantly in Taipei in China for both research and sales. Yasinta began the long process of finding the right company in China that could buy her idea. She had a very rough time at first, she says:  “At first the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania didn’t cooperate with me, but I had to go through the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce and meet an information officer, Nyamizi Singu, who made it a little easier,” she says. “Later, I sent my proposal to one of the companies in China and it was approved. It has been three months now and so far business is good.”

Why pads?

Yasinta didn’t know she would become an entrepreneur; but when the opportunity came she decided to go for it. Initially, she wanted her sanitary towels to be branded Amani Bamboo, but her budget was tight.

“From the list proposed by my manufacturer, I settled for the brand name Glory girl, because glory implies something anointed to redeem my clients,” says Yasinta who is a  choir member at St Peters Catholic Church who also likes socialising with different people and sharing Bible knowledge.

“My family members thought I would become an engineer and work at big companies.  They may think that I have let them down, but what I am doing is good for society,” she added.

Glory girl pads are bamboo charcoal sanitary napkins which contain seven different layers. These pads act as hormone regulators, therefore a woman can get her menses at regular dates after using the same napkins for three consecutive months.

“Bamboo plants contain more than 400 minerals including calcium, magnesium and potassium which can kill phasogens, diminish inflammation and clean the surface,” she said.

Bandioti Gaviole, a medical doctor at Sinza- Palestina Dar es Salaam, who uses the sanitary towels, confirms this information. “These bamboo charcoal napkins have super absorption rates for formaldehyde, benzene, ammonia, and dust. They are to absorb, decompose and eliminate the bad smell,” she said.

Paulina Makame says the pads have helped her aunt who used to experience abdominal pains during her periods. After using these pads, the pains are gone and her flow is back to normal.

“My aunt used to experience stomach cramps during her monthly periods but ever since she started using Glory girl pads, things have become different,” noted the second year student at Mwalimu Nyerere University.

Another 22-year-old woman, Nice George, revealed that she was having longer periods and pains but after using these sanitary towels; she has a four to three day menstrual flow.

“Believe me I became very sick during my menses because of abdominal pains and my period lasted up to seven days, plus I got fungal infection. To be honest, these towels have helped me so much. Now, it is a pain free event that lasts for three to four days,” said the student of Tanzania Aviation College.  Yasinta hopes to have her own industry in Tanzania in the next five years. The 28-year-old has the go ahead to export Glory girl pads to Finland and Russia. She is working round the clock to achieve all these as soon as possible.