April 9, 2025
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Turning the tide
Kenya has long struggled with plastic pollution. In the capital, Nairobi, it is estimated 480 tons of solid plastic waste is generated daily. Most sanitary pads contain up to 90% plastic. With their biodegradable product, Ecobana also wants to help tackle Kenya’s plastic waste crisis.
Ecobana is on a mission to help more women and girls to fulfil their potential by tackling period poverty in Kenya – while also protecting the environment. And they’re doing it with the help of the Hult Prize.
From an at-home stethoscope designed to catch early signs of heart disease to turning food waste into paper products, the Hult Prize has supported dozens of young entrepreneurs turn their groundbreaking ideas into reality through its 1 million USD prize.
Lennox Omondi is one such young entrepreneur. Growing up in Homa Bay County, Kenya, Lennox was always curious about the world. As an aspiring journalist, he and his university peers went into their community every Sunday to find stories and understand the challenges they faced.
They discovered that period poverty was a serious issue affecting young women and girls in their community. This discovery would send Lennox on a path towards producing an affordable, sustainable, commercially available sanitary pad, made possible by his team winning the Hult Prize in 2022.
Period poverty occurs when women and girls cannot afford adequate supplies of feminine hygiene products. The U.S. Agency for International Development reported 65% of women and girls are in such a situation, resulting in the loss of four academic days per month as they choose to skip class. This turns period poverty from a hygiene crisis into a social and economic one. For Lennox, something had to change. He said:
“I believe there should be no barriers to young women achieving their dreams. We have to remove the dilemma of affording period products or food, or between going to school and not. I wanted to change that.”
Looking around, he noted dozens of charities trying to tackle the problem, but felt none of them were moving fast enough. He decided business was the best vehicle to create an affordable sanitary pad.
Lennox didn’t just want his product to be affordable and comfortable; he wanted it to also help reduce plastic pollution. He found a unique material to achieve all of this: Banana stems, which also happen to be highly absorbent.
“Banana stems are usually a waste product from banana farms”, Lennox explained. “I asked myself, ‘Why waste this material when we could harness it for our product?’”
Once he had tested his prototypes with the local community, Lennox realized he needed investment to turn an idea into a business. That was when his university friend Keylie – now Ecobana’s Chief Operating Officer – told him about the Hult Prize.
The Hult Prize sees thousands of budding entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas in the hopes of claiming 1 million USD in seed funding. Over the years, the number of competitors for the prize has continued to grow, with 2025 seeing a record 15,000 teams apply – but only a few make it through to the Global Finals.
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Above: Celebratory scenes from the 2022 Hult Prize Global Finals as Ecobana takes the top prize and 1 million USD seed funding.
Despite the odds, Lennox and his team came out ahead of the 10,000 applicants in 2022. “The energy in the room when Ecobana won was so electric!” said Hult Prize Foundation CEO Lori van Dam. “I know the judges really had to make a difficult decision, but the support in the room for the winning team, even from the other finalists, was palpable and really moving.”
Lennox is humble when asked about his emotions on that day, describing it as a “surreal” moment, but also that it renewed his determination to achieve his goal of providing an affordable sanitary pad to women and girls.
Since that euphoric moment, Ecobana has worked tirelessly to turn a prototype into a fully-fledged product. After gaining approval from the standards authority, they are now selling one of the most affordable sanitary pads on the market in stores nationwide at just 90 Kenyan shillings (0.70 USD) per packet of eight pads.
In late 2024, alongside U.S. Ambassador to Kenya and the Governor of Kisii County, Ecobana opened its first factory in south-west Kenya to keep up with demand, now producing 80,000 sanitary pads per day.
Top: The Govenor of Kisii County cuts the tape at Ecobana's factory alongside Meg Whitman, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya and former CEO of eBay.
Below: Ecobana is now employing 24 full-time staff from the local area to help produce their sanitary pads.
They have also grown from four to 24 full-time staff, meaning they are able to take on additional challenges, such as tackling the stigma surrounding menstruation, helping to educate young women and men on the challenge period poverty poses and how it can be overcome. All of this is possible thanks to Lennox’s bold vision and the support of the Hult Prize.
“I truly believe that the model of for-profit, for-good business is the solution to so many problems we see in the world”, said Lori van Dam. “Ecobana is proving that every day. And their example inspires hundreds of thousands of students around the world to believe that they can also make a difference. That's the real magic of Hult Prize.”
For Lennox – just 24 years old and already a CEO – the work of Ecobana is only just beginning. “I can’t begin to express my feelings”, he said modestly. “I don’t see what I have done as great, because I am only halfway towards my goals. But I am delighted we are already having an impact, and I want to help more women to lead successful lives.”
The journey to the 2025 Hult Prize is well underway, with the winner to be announced in September following several rounds of competition. That day will change the lives of one team with a dream to make the world a better place, just as it did for Ecobana.
24
local people employed by Ecobana
80k
+
eco-friendly pads produced daily
65
%
of women in Kenya experience period poverty
1M
USD awarded to the winner of the Hult Prize
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