WeeklySA_Admincontribution: Eastern Cape-born Zizipho Ntobongwana honoured for transforming menstrual health through sustainable products and education in her community…
By Jacob Mawela
A 31-year-old East London entrepreneur Zizipho Ntobongwana has received a global award from an international non-governmental entity Global Citizen NOW for her contribution to solutions towards current societal challenges.
Ntobongwana is a CEO of Sheba Feminine, a company that produces organic cotton and biodegradable menstrual products, was awarded the Global Citizen and PayPal Small Business Impact Award at the NGO’s summit held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on November 21.
The event, which coincided with the G20 Leaders’ Summit around Johannesburg over the past weekend, was the first-ever Global Citizen NOW summit to be held on the African continent. It was part of the world-wide Renewables in Africa (SURA) campaign, bringing together government leaders, private sector investors, philanthropies, and grassroots advocates to accelerate investments in renewable energy and drive bold, measurable action ahead of the G20 Meetings.
The award honours entrepreneurs and small business owners who are driving innovation while strengthening their local economies and communities with social and environmental impact.
Mthatha-born Ntobongwana was part of a quintet of awardees from around the globe honoured for their diverse contribution of solutions towards current societal challenges.
An alumni of the all-girls St Anne’s Diocese College in KwaZulu-Natal, Ntobongwana is currently a Masters in Management and Sustainability student at the University of Galway in Ireland.
She states on her website to have started her made-by-women brand in 2017 after she had posed some questions during her period: What’s in the product I’m using? Who makes it? What impact does it have on the planet?
Rattled by discovering harmful synthetics in most menstrual products which contributed to environmental waste, she was spurred to intervene. She resolved to take the cudgels on behalf of other women through the creation of a brand, which presently provides organic, biodegradable products caring for both their bodies and the planet.
Driven by an ambition which, Ntobongwana asserts that her brand isn’t just about products – rather, also a movement to end stigma, promote menstrual equity and reimagine care for menstruators everywhere. She envisions a future whereby menstrual health is universally embraced, sustainable and accessible.
Her mission is to promote sexual health care through workshops targeting needy communities, at which trained facilitators destigmatise the shame associated with reproductive and sexual health care. To this end, girls as young as 10-year-old benefit from her educational initiative.
To date, her brand has donated over 10 000 pads to those in need – in addition to the “Pay for a Pal’s Pad” initiative which encourages those who can afford to contribute menstrual products for young girls, so as to ensure they remain in school, instead of missing class when nature calls.
Sheba Feminine’s products range from tampons to menstrual cups, and are manufactured locally and beyond. She is assisted by three employees while she works remotely from Ireland.
“I try not to micro-manage, because I trust my team,” she points out.
