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Professor Alemany wins recognition for case study on social enterprise helping women and girls in rural Uganda

Congratulations to Professor Luisa Alemany, Fellow by Resolution in Management at St Hugh’s, who has won in the European Foundation for Management Development Case Writing awards, under the category of ‘Inclusive Business Models’, for her case study on BanaPads, a hybrid social enterprise that provides cost effective sanitary pads manufactured from the processed stems of banana plants, to women and girls in rural Uganda.

The enterprise was founded by Richard Bbaale, a Ugandan social entrepreneur. It also provides advocacy and education for girls.

“When I first heard about the story of BanaPads, as a judge in a social impact competition, I was immediately interested. The challenge that Richard, the founder, was facing, with the decision of how much to grow and how to finance that growth while increasing the social impact, was something that many successful social entrepreneurs have to deal with as they move forward. Hybrid organizations, looking for external investors, really need to balance the trade-off between social and financial returns,” Professor Alemany said.

Professor Alemany’s article, ‘BanaPads: To grow or not to grow? That is the question’ can be read here. Her co-authors, Alma Gutierrez and Nicholas Andreou, both graduates from Said Business School, said, “It was quite inspiring to find a man fighting and providing support and help for women basic health in Uganda. Richard represents the type of person we need in this world: emphatic, supportive and hard-working.”

The European Foundation for Management Development’s (EFMD) Case Writing Competition rewards “innovative cases in management development”.