“A midwife in rural India proudly showed me the tool she used for cutting umbilical cords. It was a sickle, also used for cutting grass. I knew in that moment that I would bring life-saving change to women in need,” – Zubaida Bai

Zubaida Bai innovates health and livelihood solutions for under-served women and girls globally. Building on her expertise as a mechanical engineer, a social worker, her public speaking skills, Zubaida a mother of three, put her unique passion to work. In the process, she built a brand, a product line, and set in motion a movement that addresses market failures, breaks taboos, and gives voice to the oft-ignored matter that is women’s health.

Zubaida is the founder and CEO of ayzh (pronounced “eyes”), a social enterprise that designs vital healthcare products to improve the health and happiness of women and girls across their reproductive lives. Zubaida launched ayzh with janma, a $3 Clean Birth Kit in a Purse but her story goes further back to when she stood by her mother to face head-on the challenge of survival facing her family when she had just entered her teens.

janma conceived after traveling to one of the poorest communities in India and confronting the reality that over one million mothers and babies lose their lives in the developing world each year due to uncleanliness at the time of childbirth. Packaged in a pink biodegradable jute bag, that mothers can reuse as a purse, the kit provides both cleanliness and dignity. Since beginning sales in 2012, Zubaida’s company has sold over 300,000 kits in 20 countries, having improved the health outcomes for more than 600,000 women and newborns. Zubaida is now expanding her product line to include kits for newborn, postpartum, and menstrual health, while scaling her proven model across India and into Africa.

Attendees will walk away from this session knowing: how to identify opportunities for implementing systemic change.