Arunachalam Muruganantham

CEO - Jayaashree Industries

Arunachalam Muruganantham, CEO of Jayaashree Industries, is giving dignity to women from distressed rural communities across India by making it possible for them to afford sanitary towels; improve their health, hygiene and quality of life; and generate an income. This social entrepreneur has engineered the world's first low-cost machine for the production of sanitary towels at one third the cost of competing commercial products. According to a report AC Nielsen entitled Sanitary Protection: Every Woman's Health Right, 88 percent of women in India are forced to use ashes, newspapers, sand husks and dried leaves during menstruation. As a result of these unhygienic practices, more than 70 percent of women suffer from reproductive tract infections, increasing the risk of contracting associated cancers. In 2006, the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai recognized Muruganantham for this outstanding innovation with a prestigious awards for innovation that enables the betterment of society. He has also received an Indian Presidential Award for innovation. In 2014, TIME Magazine lauded him as one of the most influential people in the world. Today, Jayaashree Industries has installed more than 1,300 machines across 27 Indian states in India and seven other countries. This social entrepreneur sells the £ 2,600 machines directly to rural women with the support of bank loans and not-for-profit organisations. A machine operator can learn the entire towel-making process in three hours, and then hire three employees to help with processing and distribution. According to the industry leader: "My vision is to help generate employment and create one million livelihoods for poor women across India and; bring the use of sanitary towels from 2 percent to 100 percent in rural communities. Through this model, all Indian women can live with dignity."