Empowering Women, Advancing Menstrual Health, and Building Sustainable Livelihoods Through Community-Led Innovation

When women are empowered with knowledge, opportunities, and access to markets, they become catalysts for healthier families, stronger communities, and more inclusive economic growth. By integrating menstrual health awareness with entrepreneurship, community-driven initiatives are demonstrating that social impact and sustainable livelihoods can go hand in hand. Such models not only challenge long-standing stigmas around menstrual hygiene but also create pathways for women to become entrepreneurs, educators, and leaders within their communities.

Recognizing this potential, Amazon India launched Prayatna, a community initiative that combines menstrual health awareness with women-led entrepreneurship, creating a self-sustaining model for social and economic empowerment. Implemented in collaboration with grassroots organizations and strengthened through the Amazon Saheli platform, the programme enables women to build sustainable enterprises, embrace digital commerce, promote eco-friendly menstrual hygiene products, and expand their reach beyond local markets. By leveraging Amazon's logistics, technology, and marketplace ecosystem, Prayatna is creating meaningful and scalable impact across underserved communities.

In this exclusive email interview with TheCSRUniverse, Mr. Salim Rafik Memon, Director, AMZL, India Operations, Amazon India, shares the vision behind Prayatna, the rationale for integrating menstrual health with livelihood generation, the importance of strategic partnerships, and Amazon's efforts to support women entrepreneurs through digital commerce. He also discusses the programme's early impact, sustainable menstrual hygiene solutions, community-led behavioural change, and Amazon's long-term vision for strengthening women-led enterprises and fostering inclusive local economic development across India. 

Scroll down to read the full interview.

Q. What inspired Amazon India to launch the Prayatna programme, and how does it align with the company's broader vision of community development, women's empowerment, and inclusive growth?

A. At Amazon, we are committed to being a responsible neighbor in the communities where we operate. Prayatna was born out of this commitment—a recognition that we can create meaningful impact by investing in the well-being and economic empowerment of women in communities around our operations. The programme aligns with our broader belief that supporting livelihoods, health, and entrepreneurship at the grassroots level creates lasting, sustainable change. By combining menstrual health awareness with livelihood opportunities, Prayatna addresses two interconnected challenges that directly affect women's participation in the local economy.

Q. Prayatna combines menstrual health awareness with livelihood generation. What was the rationale behind integrating these two objectives, and how has the model evolved since its inception?

A. We recognized early on that menstrual health and economic empowerment are deeply connected—particularly in underserved communities where stigma around menstrual hygiene limits women's mobility, education, and economic participation. By integrating these two objectives, Prayatna creates a self-sustaining model where women become both health educators and entrepreneurs. They spread awareness while building businesses around menstrual hygiene products—addressing a health need and creating income simultaneously. Since its inception, the model has evolved to include more structured entrepreneurship support, broader geographic reach, and stronger linkages to Amazon's marketplace through Amazon Saheli.

Q. How were collaborations  with Pinkishe Foundation, She & WE Foundation, and Vedanshi Foundation conceptualized, and what unique strengths do these organisations bring to the programme's implementation?

A. We believe that lasting community impact is best delivered through collaboration/ engagement with organizations that have deep local knowledge and established trust. Each of these organizations brings unique strengths to Prayatna—from grassroots community mobilization and women's entrepreneurship development to menstrual health education and product innovation. Our role is to support and  enable their work through our resources and ecosystem. This collaborative approach ensures that interventions are relevant, culturally appropriate, and designed for long-term sustainability rather than short-term outcomes.

Q. With nearly 500 women entrepreneurs potential to onboard through Amazon Saheli, what support mechanisms are being provided to help them successfully navigate e-commerce, digital selling, logistics, and customer engagement?

A. Through Amazon Saheli, we provide women entrepreneurs with access to our marketplace, complemented by training and account management support . What sets this support apart is the end-to-end support we offer—right from registration and store setup, including   initial imaging and cataloging support . During this period, dedicated teams help these entrepreneurs maneuver through the nuances of e-commerce. .. The overarching goal is to help lower barriers to entry and empower these women-led enterprises to reach customers far beyond their immediate communities—unlocking access to a wider market that would otherwise remain out of reach.

Q. Could you share some early outcomes or success stories that demonstrate how Prayatna has impacted women entrepreneurs in terms of income generation, business growth, confidence, and community leadership?

A. We are seeing encouraging early outcomes. Women who joined the programme are not only generating income through the sale of menstrual hygiene products but are also emerging as community leaders—educating others, mentoring new entrepreneurs, and building confidence that extends well beyond their businesses. Many of these women started with no prior business experience and are now running sustainable enterprises while driving health awareness in their communities.  Read here for more details on how Amazon supports women entrepreneurs through its community programme. 

Q. Many women-led enterprises manufacturing menstrual hygiene products operate in underserved communities. What are the key challenges they face in scaling their businesses, and how is Amazon helping address these barriers?

A. The challenges are real—limited access to markets, lack of digital skills, absence of formal business training, and logistical complexities of reaching customers at scale. Through Prayatna and Amazon Saheli, we are working to address these barriers by providing marketplace access, digital literacy training, logistics support, and mentorship. Our approach is to use the strengths of our ecosystem—technology, reach, and infrastructure—to help these women-led enterprises overcome the specific obstacles that prevent them from growing.

Q. The programme promotes products such as biodegradable sanitary pads and reusable cloth pads. How does Prayatna contribute to sustainable menstrual hygiene and responsible waste management alongside women's economic empowerment?

A. Prayatna promotes products that are both better for health and better for the environment. By supporting women entrepreneurs who manufacture biodegradable and reusable menstrual hygiene products, the programme creates a model where economic empowerment and environmental responsibility go hand in hand. Women build businesses around products that reduce waste, while communities benefit from access to affordable, sustainable hygiene solutions. It reflects our broader belief that commercial solutions can and should address social and environmental challenges simultaneously. In partnership with PadCare, the initiative operates across eight Gram Panchayats in Bengaluru through the Laal Dabba closed-loop collection system, which enables the safe collection and recycling of used sanitary pads. Using PadCare's patented 5D technology, the collected sanitary waste is processed into reusable materials such as wood pulp and plastic pellets, providing an environmentally responsible alternative to incineration and landfilling.

Q. Prayatna reached more than 270,000 women and girls across 130 villages and 14 cities in 2025. What strategies have been most effective in driving menstrual health awareness and behavioural change at the grassroots level?

A. The most effective strategy has been community-led awareness—training local women as health champions who then educate others in their own communities. This peer-to-peer model builds trust and breaks stigma in ways that external interventions often cannot. By combining awareness sessions with access to affordable products and livelihood opportunities, we create a holistic approach that addresses the issue from multiple angles. The scale we have achieved—270,000 women and girls across 130 villages and 14 cities—demonstrates that this model is both effective and replicable.

Q. As a company with a vast operational footprint across India, how does Amazon leverage its logistics, technology, and marketplace ecosystem to create scalable social impact initiatives such as Prayatna?

A. Our operational footprint gives us both a responsibility and an opportunity. As a responsible neighbor, we look at how we can use our ecosystem—logistics, technology, marketplace access, and reach—to create impact in the communities around our operations. Through Amazon Saheli, we help women entrepreneurs reach customers beyond their local communities. We also support them with training on digital skills, business management, and navigating the basics of selling online. This ensures that these initiatives are connected to a broader support system that can grow with the entrepreneurs.

Q. What is your long-term vision for the programme, and how do you see it contributing to strengthening women-led enterprises, menstrual health outcomes, and local economic development across India?

A. Our long-term vision is to continue expanding Prayatna's reach while deepening its impact—supporting more women entrepreneurs, reaching more communities with health awareness, and strengthening the connection between local enterprise and national markets through our ecosystem. We see Prayatna as part of our broader commitment to being a responsible neighbor—investing in communities where we operate, supporting women's economic participation, and creating models that are sustainable and scalable. As the programme grows, we want it to demonstrate that meaningful social impact is possible when companies invest in the communities around them with genuine commitment and the right partnerships.