During WAKE’s first program in Rwanda in 2019, WAKE met the social impact startup Kosmotive, founded by CEO Blandine Umuziranenge. This organization, which was founded only five years prior, had an optimistic range of goals and aspirations for their work, along with an impressive catalogue of innovation already under their belt. In five years, Blandine and her small team had created Kosmos Magazine, the KosmoHealth App, the Kadablah maternity wear collection, and began storytelling and socio-economic empowerment for marginalized women in Rwanda through a fashion incubator. Their efforts didn’t stop there. As Kosmotive continued to push boundaries on the scope of their impact, they began a new initiative: KosmoPads, which became the focal point of their first Impact Challenge.

Kosmotive and Tech2Empower Impact Challenge 2019

In 2019, KosmoPads were a new way the Kosmotive team innovated to approach the struggles women and girls faced in Rwanda. Blandine wanted to create a solution for girls who were missing school, had allergies to disposable pads, and were burdened by the high costs of traditional single-use menstrual products. On a more societal level, the initiative to produce eco-friendly, cost-effective, reusable sanitary pads was born out of the necessity to eradicate the shame women and girls carried with them around the topic of menstruation and to take a step closer to a Rwanda where periods could be seen as a source of pride and power. This initiative held the hope that by empowering women to shine attention on their menstruation and learn how to make their own pads, it could open the door to an open dialogue about a taboo topic, educate boys, and create a shift from bullies to allies.

To see this vision through, Kosmotive's Impact Challenge focused on creating a pricing and strategic marketing plan for KosmoPads, as well as a fundraising campaign, with the intention that increased market saturation of the product would lead to improvements in education and health outcomes for women and girls. In May of 2019, Kosmotive paired up with a team of WAKE Advisors to see this goal through at the Tech2Empower Impact Challenge. Through their collaboration, the team discussed pricing strategies, addressed supply chain challenges, and set tangible benchmarks for the forthcoming year on how to expand the KosmoPad initiative. Following the program, Kosmotive returned to work with a plan on how to turn their activism and innovation into social change.

Kosmotive and Tech2Empower Impact Challenge 2022

After the separation of a global pandemic, WAKE returned to Kigali in 2022 for Tech2Empower Rwanda, invigorated by the impact that was made years prior and eager to reconnect with the social organizations of the previous program. In just three years, Kosmotive had grown in multiple capacities. Their 2019 team of four had bloomed into a team of 27 by the end of 2022, expanding their efforts, increasing capacity, and on the projection of reaching nationwide sales. It was a beautiful full-circle moment to see how their impact goals for the program shifted from KosmoPad marketing to supply chain management as they grew. When they first began the initiative in 2019, Kosmotive made 20 pieces per day. By 2022, when WAKE returned to Kigali, the challenge became understanding how to distribute nationwide, as pad production increased to numbers between 2,000 and 5,000 pieces per day.

“It was amazing working with Tech2Empower Rwanda from 2019 when we were branding our product till 2022 when we were streamlining a data collection and supply chain management system in our growth stage; our Advisors were always passionate and dedicated to our challenge, so empathetic and motivating in our collaboration. We are so grateful to WAKE for giving us this opportunity once again.”
— Blandine Umuziranenge

The goal of Kosmotive's 2022 Impact Challenge was a focus on streamlining data collection and supply chain management, as well as creating continuity across systems and improving customer relationship management. Through the program, Kosmotive and the WAKE Advisor team developed systems to track and record data, from purchasing raw materials, to production, and storing finished products, to distribute and record accurate information about end users, like distribution performance by area or demographics. The system that WAKE Advisors and Kosmotive worked on is able to connect all data to track any movement in stock and respond accordingly, allowing reminders to be sent to users about renewing their pads. This effort was implemented with the goal of providing KosmoPads reusable sanitary pad kits to 2,000,000 girls and women, and shattering period stigma amongst 3,600,000 girls and women in Rwanda.

Kosmotive Today

Ideas for change are not something Blandine and her team have ever been short to deliver. With her infectiously creative and ambitious mind, Blandine exceeds the threshold of what many believe to be possible and continues to surpass the goals she sets. Most recently, Blandine has completed the prestigious Winter 2025 Milestone Makers program at the Nasdaq Entrepreneurship Center, an initiative to support entrepreneurs whose businesses align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, Blandine was recognized as one of the most impactful voices of 2025 by ABCD Africa. Blandine's fervor and dedication to women’s health are beginning to gain global recognition as she receives grants to expand her efforts and impact the lives of women throughout Africa and eventually the world. Her growth is both inspiring and expansive, and the WAKE team is grateful to be able to uplift powerful women leaders and support Blandine and her team champion menstrual freedom and reproductive health in Africa.