Indra Shah

Saathi Pads

Saathi is the first company to make a 100% biodegradable sanitary pad from banana fibre. We believe in a cradle-to-cradle approach to women's health that benefits women and their communities at every step. Our women-led team was founded in 2014 by MIT and Nirma graduate, Kristin, Tarun and Grace. We are headquartered in Ahmedabad, India. Our production plant is proudly women-operated. We have a multi-layered impact throughout our supply chain: banana farmers receive additional income, consumers are able to use all natural product which doesn't cause irritation or rashes, and finally we have product that is compostable and therefore doesn't have any negative impact on the environment either through plastic waste or CO2 emissions which traditional pads have, Saathi's team consist of 75% women employee and we are dedicated to supporting women empowerment. We have employed low-income women in our production team and also running an initiative called #ONEMILLIONPADS partnering with NGOs to distribute pads among underprivileged rural women. Few of our awards: Time Magazine: "100 Best Inventions of 2019" Top Startup B2MC-Taiwan, 2019 Winner Not Impossible Awards,2019 Aarohan Social Innovations Award, 2019, India Enterprising Women of the Year by MSME, 2019 IndiaThe 2019 St Andrews Prize for the Environment, 2019, UK Fast Company's Annual List of the World's Most Innovative Companies for 2019 Toilet Board Coalition, Geneva 2019, Switzerland IP Start-Up of the Year 2018 Expo 2020 Live Grant Award 2018, Dubai Cartier Women's Initiative Awards Finalist 2018, Singapore Global Cleantech Innovation Program Global Winner 2018, LA Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge Winner 2017, Paris MIT Solve 2017, NYC Grand Challenges Canada 2017 Circular Board Pitch for Purpose Winner 2017, Houston SXSW Accelerator Pitch Finalist in Healthcare 2017, Austin Asia Social Innovation Award 2017, Hong Kong