Paul holds a B.Sc. in Biology from McGill University in Montréal, Canada. He and his wife, Sophia, founded AFRIpads in 2010 while living in a remote village in Uganda, where they saw the direct need for an affordable sanitary pad in these parts of the world.

“I believe that two of the most important aspects of development are women’s empowerment & job creation. I’m proud that after 8 years of running AFRIpads, we’ve been able to reach hundreds of thousands of women and girls with our product, and help provide over 150 jobs in a remote area of Uganda, 95% of whom are young women. And it only feels like the beginning…”

Sophia holds a BA in Environment & Development from McGill University in Montréal, Canada. She co-founded AFRIpads in 2010 with her husband Paul, and currently serves as a Managing Director of the company.

“The most exciting thing about AFRIpads is how quickly we have been able to scale our impact, while demonstrating that sustainable business and social impact need not be mutually exclusive. In only 8 years AFRIpads has grown from a seed idea to over 1.5 million products sold and over 150 full-time jobs created, with ambitious growth plans for the future.”

Barbra holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (Accounting) and a Diploma in Accounting from Makerere University Business School. Barbra also attained a Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Management from Uganda Management Institute (UMI).

“Being a part of AFRIpads for close to three years has been so inspirational and motivational in my life and I believe to most employees. Most importantly, AFRIpads prioritizes the SOCIAL community impact besides empowering women & girls at all levels through employment and management of menstruation hygiene with dignity.”

27 year old Irene has worked with AFRIpads for 5 years now, and has a diploma in social work and social administration.

“I like working with AFRIpads because of the impact the product has had on me, my community, my fellow employees and the change it is creating to the life of a girl child.”

Sales, Finance & Operations team at the AFRIpads Head Office in Kampala, Uganda. This team is responsible for making things happen!  They handle everything from sales to shipping to finance.

Production team at AFRIpads manufacturing workshop in Masaka, Uganda. This team is responsible for making our AFRIpads Menstrual Kits at our manufacturing facility, located in a rural village in Southwestern Uganda.

Bert has been an investor but even more importantly a mentor for AFRIpads from the very beginning. He met Paul and Sophia when they started the pilot project in 2009, immediately saw the potential of their idea and decided to invest.

“In 2009 we embarked on an incredible journey when we started AFRIpads. With no more than a great Idea and a very small but highly motivated team AFRIpads was founded as a social enterprise with the goal to empower women in Uganda and make a contribution to the local society by creating sustainable jobs. After 5 years of hard and extensive works AFRIpads has grown into the number one company for reusable sanitary pads that is fully self-supporting. With this achievement we turned our idea and dream into reality. We have set an example like no one did and I’m proud to be a part of this.”

René was appointed in 2010. Some of his previous positions are MD of C&E Bankers, Head of Private Clients Lombard Odier, SVB Lowland international and Board member of Youth Theatre School The Masquerade. He is currently a partner at Stuijvesant Wealth Strategy and Board member of two family foundations.

“In the early days of AFRIpads I was and still am financial board member of Kootje Foundation, the foundation of the Bolkenstein family. In my past I more often was involved in impact investment cases, in several areas and regions. This example of merging social and financial goals was one I really wanted to stay involved with.”

In 2009, Mark was appointed as Board Member of the Supervisory Board. His previous positions are Managing Director Europe and Asia Aalberts Industries and Founding Partner Espinosa Partners. He currently serves as a Board Member Prosegur China, Partner Delclaux and Partners

“When Bert Bolkenstein asked me to get involved at the beginning of AFRIpads, it was a wonderful opportunity to provide assistance to women in Africa not only through the product but also through providing employment and empowerment. It was also a means of giving something to people less fortunate than myself and knowing that they will receive all of the help intended.”

Konstanze joined the Supervisory Board in the spring of 2012. She is currently working as an independent architect in Paris, France. Before establishing her own practice she worked for renowned architectural firms such as Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in New York, Dominique Perrault and Jean Nouvel in Paris. She is currently involved in sustainable architecture projects in France and in the design of the new AFRIpads factory in Uganda.

“Girl’s Education is an important part of my life by raising 2 girls and by having been actively involved in the boards and foundations of the various schools that my daughters attended in New York, Paris and Amsterdam.”

Giovanni was appointed in 2014 as Board Member of the Supervisory Board. His previous positions are Investment Manager at MicroVentures Investments SA (LUX/CH) and COO at Altromercato Soc. Coop (IT). He currently serves as Director of Investments at Fondazione Opes (IT).

“I got in touch with Paul Grinvalds during one of Opes’ trips to Uganda in the summer of 2013, and got immediately the feeling that AFRIpads was the kind of social enterprise we definitely wanted to support. We went through the investment process at different levels and gladly Fondazione Opes ended up becoming a proud shareholder of AFRIpads in December 2013. Given my background in the marketing of consumer goods and the experience within the East Africa countries, I was asked to join the SB of the Company.”

Cristina joined the Supervisory Board in 2014. Her previous positions are Principal Engineer at Baxter International and Consultant at McKinsey & Co. She currently serves as a partner at Influence Film and Director at Giving Wings.

“Through Giving Wings Foundation, I have been interested in Menstrual Hygiene Management and its impact on women and girls. AFRIpads was our first investment in a company directly addressing these issues and offering an effective solution for thousands of girls.”

Rene has been involved with AFRIpads since 2011. He is the owner of Fixum Finances and previously worked for various small and med-sized companies all over Europe.

“I know Bert Bolkenstein from other assignments. Back in 2011, Bert requested me to bring some basic admin knowledge to the table when Paul Grinvalds was in Utrecht, the Netherlands. After this meeting, I became interested in the idea of supporting the Ltd./B.V. with my financial background. As such, the one-day support in 2011 evolved together with the growth of the Ltd. into a monthly support and financial liaison between the Ltd. and the B.v. from 2013. I introduced cash forecasting and monthly reporting in 2013 and stock accounting in 2014. This was all implemented during my visits to Uganda, where I was very happy to work with all the team members, especially with Barbra in her role as the Ltd.’s accountant.”