An Eastern Cape woman has scooped a top national award that comes with R1.3m — which she says she will use to expand her business Leafline Washable Sanitary Wear and employ more people.
Candy Androliakos, 50, walked away with the award at the SAB Foundation Social Innovation and Disability Empowerment Awards on Tuesday afternoon.
Androliakos won in the disability empowerment category.
Leafline employs people living with disabilities to manufacture affordable and biodegradable sanitary products, nappies and chair and bed protectors made from natural fibre.
Our product is an affordable and biodegradable sanitary product range made from natural products using the inner part of the cayenne pineapple leaf. We get the pineapple fibre at the big pineapple in Bathurst
The SAB Foundation provides funding for small, medium, and micro-sized enterprises in order to contribute to the economic and social empowerment of historically disadvantaged persons through entrepreneurship development.
Androliakos started her innovation when she worked at a retirement home and noticed the expense elderly people had to incur because they had to buy disposable nappies.
“People at the retirement home asked me if I could make them washable nappies instead of disposables that they had to throw away. I got a pattern from one of them and I was left with finding out what I could use on the inside.
“Our product is an affordable and biodegradable sanitary product range made from natural products using the inner part of the cayenne pineapple leaf. We get the pineapple fibre at the big pineapple in Bathurst,” she said.
“This washable, cost effective and environmentally friendly sanitary product range includes sanitary towels, adult and children’s nappies, breast pads, as well as chair and bed protectors. The Leafline fibre absorbs moisture and odours and is easy to wash and dry.”
Androliakos has six students living with disability who sew the products.
“Our students started from the beginning stages and progressed to sewing the whole inner part of the products.
“I am hoping to grow this business with the help of the SAB Foundation [because] I have done most of the work on my own and that is why I am so grateful to them for this award.
There are no jobs in the Eastern Cape and I would really love to provide employment for more women, and expand the reach of our products
“There are no jobs in the Eastern Cape and I would really love to provide employment for more women, and expand the reach of our products,” Androliakos said.
She was not the only one up for an award as there were two other finalists from the Eastern Cape.
While she was the only one to win on the night, the two other finalists did not come back empty-handed.
East London-based Sipokuhle Community Development, which was founded by Sithembele Dlutu, was a runner-up in the disability empowerment category and was awarded R500,000.
Dlutu aims to empower young and vulnerable people with intellectual disabilities through skills development and job creation.
“Our project equips these young people with food production, vermiculture and administrative skills to enable them to produce premium quality vegetables that are suitable to be sold to the local market,” Dlutu said.
Soledad Luca De Tena, the founder of Zenzeleni Community Networks, a solar-powered wireless community network that works closely with co-operatives in rural communities in the Eastern Cape, received a development award of R450,000 in the social innovation category.
SAB Foundation director Bridgit Evans said their long-term commitment to recognising businesses was underpinned by their belief that the economic, social and environmental issues affecting SA were escalating too fast to be addressed in traditional ways.
“Disruptive technology and income generating innovations bring the promise of increased effectiveness, efficiency and scale. Our aim is to launch and then grow these businesses to the point where they become an attractive option for traditional and impact investors,” Evans said.
In the past nine years the SAB Foundation has supported 170 South Africans from all walks of life.
SAB Foundation social innovation specialist Ntandokazi Nodada said: “Not only have the businesses produced socially informed and transformative products and services in multiple sectors, but they have also contributed an additional R219m per annum to the economy, while creating 1,000 jobs.”
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