By PAUL OEKA
AS the country prepares to celebrate 50 years of independence, the rise of woman business owners has shown that women are capable of matching the success of their male counterparts.
And when it comes to talking about female entrepreneurs in Papua New Guinea, it’s hard to miss Ann-Shirley Korave.
Anne-Shirley is from a mixed heritage of Central and East Sepik and was born and raised in Goroka, Eastern Highlands before moving to Port Moresby. She is the founder of Queepads, a company dedicated to providing sustainable and affordable menstrual health solutions for women and girls.
To mark this year’s international women’s day, the Queenpads founder and entrepreneur shared some inspiring experiences on how she started her business while navigating challenges along the way.
Anne-Shirley’s company, Queenpads was birthed by seeing the struggle that a lot of women face to afford disposable sanitary pads, so she began creating reusable pads which quickly gained positive feedback from women and young girls throughout the country.
This inspired her to formally establish Queenpads, which has been successfully operating for six years. As an entrepreneur, she has been on this journey since 2017.
Professionally Anne-Shirley is an accountant but she left her ideal job behind to follow her passion for helping others. She saw the need to meet the silent hardships of women and girls who are unable to afford proper menstrual products and are left vulnerable to infections and discomfort.
Over the years Queenpads has been unfolding a quiet revolution by providing reusable menstrual products and have transformed the lives of thousands of young girls in PNG. Her products have shone a light against shame, silence, and the age-old taboos that have long surrounded the natural biological process of menstruation.
“I have always been concerned about how women and girls especially in rural areas and communities manage menstrual hygiene. Most of them cannot afford disposable sanitary pads which exposes them to various health problems that are difficult to treat,” she said.
“Through Queenpads, I have managed to raise awareness and educate women about menstrual health and the use of reusable sanitary pads made from healthy materials. These pads are durable, washable, and can be reused for many, many months.”
“Besides what I have accomplished so far, improving menstrual hygiene for young girls and women is a significant achievement for me,” she said.
From a young age, Anne-Shirley understood the power of connection. Each person she met became a piece of her inspiration. She loved to sit and talk with them, learning about their lives and the challenges they faced.
Her inspiration spawned from a sense of satisfaction from helping and serving people. She just loved serving others. whether it was solving a problem or just listening to their stories.
As she grew older, she met many women who inspired her. Each one had a unique story, filled with strength and courage about the hardships they faced but never gave up. She admired their strength and always felt a bit stronger after hearing their tales. They became her role models, showing her that with determination, anything was possible.
“Every person I’ve met over-time have inspired me in their own ways. The conversations, their experiences, the lessons, the genuine support, attention and time is enough inspiration,” she said.
While all the women she met inspired her, her mother was her greatest inspiration. She taught her the value of hard work and kindness. Whenever she felt discouraged, she thought of her mother and drew strength from her tireless spirit.
“There are countless women whom I have crossed paths with that I draw inspiration from, especially those ones who continue to be strong despite the challenging situations in their lives. But my greatest inspiration is my mother, a very courageous, dedicated and committed school teacher who have thought thousands of students in both rural and urban schools,” she said.
Ann-Shirley described her mother as a warrior who juggled work and family, always with a smile.
“I admire my mother a lot because just like other great women, she has stepped in to provide for our family financially and always balances her time between family and work and I’ve never seen her prioritize herself over us or her students – not one bit.”
In her business journey, the Queenpads CEO has faced and overcome a lot of struggles and hardships especially in the early stages of her business when she was young and did not have much business experience.
“One of the many challenges is knowing or mastering how to make that first approach, whether it be meetings, operations, interviews, travel, or product development my approach was to appreciate and embrace failures and making mistakes,” she said.
“This gave me a meaningful learning experience to overcome first time approaches,” she said.
When asked about what advice she would give to young women aspiring to follow in her footsteps, she explained that everyone is unique and different and God’s plan for our lives isn’t the same. When you really know yourself, you will know what step to take next and decisions to make.
The story of Ms. Korave as well as her company’s growth is phenomenal. In recent times the company has witnessed successful growth, when it launched its products in City Pharmacy stores nationwide.
Additionally, business houses have partnered and supported Queenpad’s programs focused on creating awareness on menstrual health education. Last year, the business achieved a significant milestone with its first overseas export to the Solomon Islands.
Anne-Shirley is also a participant in the CPL Foundation Inc and Australian Business Volunteers Business Mentoring Program, an initiative aimed at empowering women-led businesses in PNG.
In commemorating international women’s day, she paid homage to the all the great women who have come before and set the pace for them.
“Let’s pay respect to the great women who have paved way for us today, those whose experiences we learn from, embrace and follow.
“To women now, let’s leave behind positive experiences today that will pave way for the future women to learn, embrace and follow. Happy International Women’s Day celebrations.”
