After a decade-long struggle, Ella Pad secures licence

Award-winning social enterprise Ella Pad has secured its long-awaited non-profit licence, marking the end of a decade-long struggle against rejection, bureaucratic hurdles and a rule that had excluded some of its own grassroots entrepreneurs.

To mark the milestone, the organisation's board has elected co-founder Mahira Mamun as its founding chairperson. Four of the seven board seats have gone to rural women who were previously excluded by the registration rules.

Ella Pad first applied to register as a foundation in 2017. Its applications were repeatedly rejected because of a regulation that barred rural micro-entrepreneurs without formal education from becoming members of a non-profit organisation.

After years of advocacy, the government finally changed course this year and granted Ella Pad its licence.

The organisation did not have to wait for official recognition to attract international attention. In 2018, the US State Department awarded it seed funding to launch its operations. A year later, the late Queen Elizabeth II honoured Ella Pad with the Commonwealth Points of Light Award for its voluntary work in menstrual health.

But international recognition could not change a local regulation. That required years of advocacy.

Mahira Mamun, who is currently attending a technology entrepreneurship course at Stanford University, said the contrast had been eye-opening.

“In Silicon Valley, starting a business, even a non-profit, can take just 10 minutes,” she said. “It made me realise how much has to change back home when it took us almost 10 years to receive the same recognition.”

Board member Asia Begum, a woman with a disability from an underprivileged community in Gaibandha, has spent the past five years teaching rural women to make reusable sanitary pads from upcycled fabric.

“Ella Pad gave me dignity when society had none for me,” she said. “Now, with this licence, we are finally recognised.”

Reflecting on the decade-long struggle, founder Mamunur Rahman said the team had remained committed throughout the process.

“Our team never compromised with the bureaucracy,” he said. “We showed patience and perseverance throughout this process. Today, that patience has paid off.”

With the licence secured, Ella Pad is now set to expand its work across Bangladesh.