Jaydeep Mandal is the founder and managing director of Aakar Innovations, a hybrid social enterprise that enables women to produce and distribute affordable, high quality sanitary towels. He is a Commonwealth Innovation Awards 2019 People category winner.
Aakar works with various partners – corporate, non-profit organisations and government. Through its interventions in the last seven years, Aakar have reached 1 million plus female consumers. It employs over 600 women in production while another 500 are engaged in sales.
Aakar endeavours to break the silence around the issue of menstrual hygiene and provide knowledge and guidance, especially adolescent girls.