You have aspirations, right? Imagine if you had the tools, the guidance, and the confidence to work towards them, overcoming all the challenges that may appear your way… How far would you be? Would you aspire to be more? what would it look like for you to claim your power?
We believe that you have it in you and you truly can boldly claim your place in the world and succeed.
Nia was born for women, girls and boys like you. Those who hope to safely navigate adolescence, avoid or overcome trauma, and stay in school to step boldly into the promise of your future, breaking generational cycles of poverty in the process.
Nia was started in the hope that together, we can change harmful social norms like gender-based and domestic violence, to raise a generation of confident, progressive youth across Africa.
Our pads and programs support adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, mental health and safety.
Wear Your Confident
There is power in the ability to form and own your own destiny. This begins when the necessary answers to life’s questions, the tools, education and resources that give you the confidence to make healthy choices, are available to you 24/7.
The Nia journey
Our story began with girls and women in Kibera and Kawangware and since then, we have worked with communities to co-create affordable chafe, scent, and burn-free sanitary pads with strong adhesive and wide wings, and behaviour change communication materials that effect sustained change.
2009 - Started health programing in Kibera and Kawangware
2013 - Created first comics with 65% knowledge retention and 98% sharing rates
2014 - Began pilot sales of pads
2015 - Completed intellectual property to make pads locally from eco-friendly
materials on commercial machines
2016 - Relaunched brand, began scaling
2017 - Completed 25-session, 18-month school program, began two year
randomised control trial to evaluate impact
2018 - Introduced "Fast Moving Educational Good" using pad packs to link to
health information
2019 - Expanded partnerships on pad packages
2020 - During COVID, 10% of customers used our pad partners. Results of
randomised control trial published
2021 - Relaunched national sales post-COVID
2022 - Piloted hotline and paired communication materials - improved blood
drives in Migori 1.4x and cervical cancer screening in Kisumu and Siaya
by 2.4x
2023 - Began implementing MOU with Kenya Institute of Curriculum
Development to scale programs in schools
There is still more for us to do! By 2026, over the next three years, our goals are to:
1. Co-create teacher training program to deliver Nia Program content in schools in trauma-informed ways
2. Scale our sales across Kenya to reach 1.3 million amazing women and girls
3. To support at least 10,000 people calling or texting every month and be able to direct callers to local health and safety resources so they can reduce the time between health problems and full health
Our core values
Co-creation: Our products and resources are created alongside our stakeholders, consumers and beneficiaries, listening keenly so they are truly customer-led. We produce different iterations until we get it right.
Rights-based: Our work is anchored in a human rights framework.
Afro-centric: We celebrate African history and cultures, and create African solutions for global challenges.
Interconnectedness: We recognize intersectionality and look to create simple solutions to key systemic gaps to address complex challenges.
Ecosystem building: We seek to create and strengthen diverse ecosystems for faster and deeper social impact.
Growth and innovation mindset: We do not hold our ideas precious, and are hungry to expand our knowledge and challenge our thinking, whether in the social or material sciences, school settings or the creative arts.
Value for money: We create products and services that provide higher quality at lower costs.
