Ruvimbo Chimutsa: Founder, The Grace and Nelly Project

Upon graduating from the Smith School of Business at Queens University with a Master of Management in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Ruvimbo set out to develop a social entrepreneurship venture of her own. Her passion for creating unique solutions, led her to found the Grace and Nelly Project.

The Grace and Nelly project aims to empower girls and reduce poverty in the rural communities in Zimbabwe. They achieve this by providing free menstrual products to young girls in Zimbabwe. The final goal is to sell reusable sanitary pads in the North American market. All the profits from this venture will be used to purchase menstrual products for girls in different villages in Zimbabwe. 

Visit their website here!

1.      What drove your initial interest in social entrepreneurship?

Growing up, I never thought I would become an entrepreneur. I wanted to focus on philanthropy and envisioned myself working for an aid organization or the United Nations. I felt it was my calling to do something that would enhance the lives of others. However, as I began to know more about how the world works and of the impact social entrepreneurship can have, I realized there were others ways to help people outside the world of philanthropy.  I saw how the business my parents had started when I was a teenager had a huge positive impact in the rural community it was based. I saw first-hand how women who were relegated to the role of mother and wife and nothing else began to express ambitions about their education, and their autonomy and entrepreneurship by virtue of having earning an income and learning a new skillset. They were still mothers and wives and that meant everything to them but now they discovered another part of themselves.

I watched as these women used their earning to pay for their children to attend primary and high school. I saw how this had the impact of changing  a whole families life for the better. My parents had not set out to change people’s lives but to create a successful business that treated its employees well. However, the unintended benefits of their venture were the development of a rural community. The community became open to the rest of the country and little by little, other small businesses began to pop up in and around the community.

This had a huge impact on me and led me to believe that entrepreneurship could help me achieve my self appointed calling. Research and extensive reading introduced me to a whole new business model, the “social enterprise”, whose main focus was the benefit of a group or people, a community or the environment. After this discovery there was no turning back.

2. What has been the biggest learning in your career to date?

The importance of communication. A large part of any enterprise, large or small is working with people. Without good relationships based on mutual understanding and trust, the enterprise cannot succeed. Whatever position you hold in any organization, the people around you and the relationships you have can have an impact on you and the organization. Whether you are a manager, the CEO or lowest paid employee, the people you work with make a huge difference. You can have the most difficult job but the people around you and the relationships you have can make that job 10 times easier.

3. What are some of the unique challenges of working on a female-centric product and on an issue that has a great deal of stigma associated with it?

The greatest challenge was for me to become comfortable about talking about menstrual health and rights in front of not only women but men as well. I grew up in a culture where it was taboo to discuss “women’s issues” even to your mother. Menstruation was not frowned upon but was considered to have a time and place, which was not in the general public. It took time for me to feel comfortable having the conversations with people I met, people interested in G&N and wanting to make a difference. The other part of this challenge was then convincing people, especially those not affected by menstrual poverty that this is not only an issue for women (or menstruators in general) but that it is an issue that affects an entire community. It has gotten better in the last couple of years but I sometimes encounter people who do not want to be involved or want to discuss the issue of menstrual health and menstrual rights because they view it as a “women’s only issue”. I have also had conversations with those who believe period poverty is only experienced in developing countries and is not present in Canada. The truth is that menstrual health and more so menstrual rights affect everyone.

4. Looking into the future what is your vision for Grace and Nelly?

To provide employment opportunities, foster entrepreneurship, and support small business in Zimbabwe. The solution will create employment opportunities for women in rural communities, support the agricultural and textile sector in Zimbabwe to help it grow, support female entrepreneurs in rural communities by providing them with a product at affordable wholesale prices and with training and support, and mentorship for women in rural communities.

The more well-known G&N becomes, and with more people employed by G&N in rural communities, we anticipate that money earned by those making G&N products will result in more people being able to send their children on to higher education, giving them more opportunities to find good quality jobs.

We anticipate that the 200 women we support and provide with entrepreneurship mentorship will build businesses that provide them with a living wage. That those 200 women are constantly in communication with each other, without the intervention of G&N and are able to assist each other on business issues. That they will mentor others in business, employing the techniques learned through G&N's programming. It is also anticipated that the women who have successful business will be able to employ other individuals as their businesses grow. 

5. What advice would you give to other female students wishing to enter social entrepreneurship?

Do not be afraid to stick out, to be the loudest person in the room and to be ambitious. I wasted so much time focused on what others would think, whether I was being too aggressive and not being ladylike. It took me a while to realize that what I have to say is important. You do not have to wait for someone to make way for you or tell you that now, “it’s your turn”. No one can tell your story better than you and there is no time like the present to get started.

5. Who has been the most influential female mentor in your life and how has she shaped your path?

I have been very lucky to have many female mentors who have had a great impact on my life and who I am as a person. The women in my family have, in my opinion, been nothing but phenomenal. My mother for one has been the definition of a strong African woman. She and I started university at the same time – I was 19 and she was 40. She has run a successful business for almost two decades and has supported the financial empowerment of all her female employees. However, I would be remiss if I did not mention my two grandmothers – Grace and Nelly. They, along with my mother, have shaped who I am as a person and shown me that whoever you are and whatever you have, you can make an impact in the lives of so many. My maternal grandmother, Grace, took in my cousins after the passing of their parents and raised them as her own. Not as burden, not as the children of other women but as though they had always been her children. Nelly, my paternal grandmother was extremely feisty. Despite living in a very patriarchal society, she ran a business with her husband and was never one to leave a room because “the men were talking”. She advocated for women to be financially independent regardless of their cultural or economic background.