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Exploring innovative finance as a means of improving investments in menstrual health in the East Asia region

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Investing in Market Formation: Building Gender-Transformative Markets

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Session Principles

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• Explore new possibilities for investing in menstrual health
• Find innovative ways to frame and connect menstrual health to other agendas
• This is an opportunity for creativity 
• There are no right answers here (we don’t have all the answers)

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Project Overview

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This project is a partnership between Criterion Institute and UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific office to explore how innovative finance can be used to enable a more inclusive menstrual health market across the region. This is the design phase of a longer-term partnership with UNICEF.

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Objectives

• Understand what the menstrual health opportunity in the region is
• Explore where finance can be used to create a more inclusive menstrual health market 
• Identify what types of financial instruments could be used to invest in local actors  
• Map what market conditions, terms and key players are needed to expand or shift investments in menstrual health at an eco-system level

Why Menstrual Health?

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UNICEF MHH Pillars

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Applying a Menstrual Lens to WASH Financing & the Circular Economy

Connections

• At least 500 million women and girls globally lack adequate WASH facilities for menstrual hygiene management (MHM). 
• Tampons, pads, panty liners, and their packaging generate more than 200,000 tons of waste per year​ and can take hundreds of years to decompose in landfills or in the ocean ​

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Opportunities

• Designing investment framework and guidelines for menstrual-sensitive WASH investments with key MH indicators for WASH related investments.
• Loan conditionality and/or safeguarding in investments (blended finance)
• Driving innovation in the design of: a) reusable/sustainable products; and b) waste management/recycling
• Increasing demand and access to sustainable products
• Blended finance incentives to have investors prioritize this lens

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Financing Market Formation Through a DIB or SIB

Connections

• Improving menstrual health outcomes for women and girls requires a sustainable market of both social and economic activity. 
• Within MH there is a need to improve supply and demand in order to strengthen the market.
• Supply and demand is not only about products and access, but education, awareness raising, WASH infrastructure etc. ​

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Opportunities

• Designing an impact bond be aimed at financing demand creation and market formation activities which would strengthen local markets.
• Social activities are financed through the impact bond, however metrics are tied to market access, business growth
• Attracts new set of investors to menstrual health

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Setting the Stage

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• MH is a market system, and different types of financing are needed to form the market
• MH cuts across a variety of investment agendas: where are the connections and incentives
• Social and economic activity is needed to improve menstrual health outcomes for women and girls
• Mobilizing new investments in MH is in the framing and narrative around MH
• Social impact must be the desired outcome of all investments
• Improving menstrual health outcomes for women and girls is central to any business activity

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Building Markets: Micro and Macro Level

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Why building a market for menstrual health matters:

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1. Increase capital flow
2. Connect players across supply chains
3. Drive innovation
4. Improve visibility

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Exploring MH Market Formation

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Reflections

• What surprised you?
• What are you more sure or less sure about?
• What are your takeaways?
• What actions are you taking forward ?

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Thank you.�

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