When Matefo Morakeng was working on a community project to help women make extra money in the Free State, she learned that women were opting to take the depo-provero birth control injection to stop their menstrual cycle because they could not afford sanitary pads.

The 38-year-old said she was inspired to create her own affordable and proudly South African menstrual pads, Dear Bella, in 2018 in response to this...