Suzanne Siemens and Madeleine Shaw are helping change the world – whenever it’s that time of the month. They co-founded a social enterprise that’s been making reusable menstrual pads for more than two decades.
Today, Lunapads International sells products that include a silicone menstrual cup that collects, rather than absorbs, menstrual flow for up to 12 hours. Its line of “period” clothes includes all-in-one panties and yoga pants that provide enough protection to replace disposable pads. The social entrepreneurs estimate that the number of women using their products globally diverts some 20 million disposable pads and tampons from landfills each year.
Gavin Armstrong is also a social entrepreneur. The founder, president and CEO of Lucky Iron Fish uses a simple product to help people, many of who are in developing countries, with iron deficiencies. It’s a small piece of iron shaped like a river fish that is thrown into a pot while food is cooking and releases enough iron to satisfy 75 per cent of a person’s daily required intake.
About two billion people have iron deficiencies, nearly a third of the world’s population.
In recognition of their work, Siemens, Shaw and Armstrong have been chosen as recipients of this year’s EY Entrepreneur Of The Year special citations for social entrepreneurs.
“This year’s winners are proof that social enterprises are the future of entrepreneurship,” says Paula Smith, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Ontario Program Co-Director. “They’re not only finding creative ways to solve complex problems, but they’re also finding a way to make it profitable, which means sustainable. Sustainable solutions to social problems – what can be more innovative than that?”
One of the most ingrained misconceptions about social enterprises is that they’re not-for-profits or charities, rather than bona fide businesses built on a solid business model, say this year’s winners.
For Lunapads, there’s the added problem of the perception that feminism and capitalism are inherently in conflict. “We’re definitely not a charity. We are absolutely for-profit,” says Shaw, a fashion designer and women’s studies graduate who created the reusable pads for her own personal use in 1993. Tampons were causing Shaw health problems, in particular bladder infections. She wrote her first business plan a year later, launching herself as a pioneer in the social entrepreneur space.
Many people “conflate” social enterprise with charity, adds Siemens, who joined Lunapads in 1999 and today serves as its CEO while Shaw is the creative director. Siemens brought her business acumen and skills as a chartered accountant to the role, helping grow Lunapads internationally.
“The risk we take is when we promote the social-impact angle of what we do, people assume we’re a charity and don’t take us seriously. Or they don’t trust the business,” said Siemens.
“A lot of our friends are strong feminists, yet they can’t reconcile that with being a capitalist and being in business. A feminist capitalist business can and will succeed and will help change the world.”
Armstrong’s motto is: “We are for profit (and) for good.”
The “social good” is found throughout his work, from the environmental-grade Forest Stewardship Council packaging to hiring practices that promote the hiring of those who identify as minorities. Local Syrian refugees, for instance, were among those given temporary seasonal jobs during peak season.
“On the other side of that, we have investors and financial obligations,” says Armstrong. “We have to make money to pay our bills and invest in our own growth.”
That’s paid off in multiples for investors. When Lucky Iron Fish began in 2012, it had one employee and an annual budget of $50,000. Today, it has up to 10 employees and an operating budget of $10-million. Some 500,000 people worldwide benefit from the fish.
For every fish sold, the company commits to donating one to a family in need. It also donates to food banks in four Indigenous communities in Canada.
The product is available in at least 66 countries. About 20 per cent of Canadians suffer from iron deficiencies, says Armstrong. “Mainly women of reproductive age,” he says. “They use our fish because they don’t like taking iron supplement pills, which are expensive and they have nasty side effects.”
Lunapads’ numbers are just as impressive. Incorporated in 2000, today it employs 10 women and sells its products in more than 40 countries.
Like Lucky Iron Fish, Lunapads has a similar donation program. Millions of girls in developing countries lack access to menstrual products and have to miss school during their periods. For every eligible product sold, Lunapads donates a reusable pad.
These value-driven companies are successful because they are tapping into the new consumer market of millennials, who put their money where their values are.
“Moving forward, focusing on profits alone won’t be enough,” says Lui Petrollini, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Pacific Program Director. “Consumers expect a business to have, at the very least, a meaningful purpose and a way to give back to their communities.”
“With digital media and social media, consumers are paying way more attention about what’s being reported about companies,” says Siemens. “We can’t be complacent. There are numerous examples of companies doing things wrong and they get called immediately,” she says.
“We have to be on top of our game in those ways because that’s how we differentiate ourselves from our competitors and it’s what consumers in the next generation expect.”
Canadian takes home the global prize
A Canadian has won the prestigious title of 2017 EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year.
Murad Al-Katib, president and CEO of Saskatchewan-based AGT Food and Ingredients Inc., was named winner from a group of 59 top contenders in 49 countries. “I am deeply moved and honoured by the recognition of this award,” said Al-Katib, who took his company from a startup and turned it into the world’s largest vertically integrated supply-chain processor of lentils, chickpeas and peas.
“AGT is committed to building a successful and sustainable business,” he says. “By taking risks and rethinking the approach to my industry, we have grown the business responsibly and transformed Canada’s agricultural industry. I thank EY for the recognition on behalf of all of my colleagues who day in and day out are committed to our values and purpose.”
AGT’s revenues last year’s were US$1.49-billion. The company employs more than 2000 people on five continents.
Al-Katib is a strong supporter of food security and emergency food aid. He’s committed to providing safe, affordable and sustainable protein to people around the world. His philanthropic work includes delivering more than four million family-sized ration cartons to feed Syrian refugees. In 2016, the United Nations Association in Canada named him Global Citizen Laureate. In March, he was one of four honourees of the Oslo Business for Peace Award.
“Murad is an incredible entrepreneur who has demonstrated outstanding value creation, organizational reach and expansion,” says Jim Nixon, chairman and CEO of Nixon Energy Investments and Chair of the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year judging panel. “The judging panel, with broad geographical and industry perspective, came to a unanimous decision after a vigorous, balanced and informed debate.”
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