Students rise to global challenge to tackle period poverty

A team of students from The Open University (OU) in Scotland have reached the finals of an international competition, after developing a business idea aimed at tackling period poverty and gender equality, keeping girls in education.

The three students, who live in different parts of Scotland and study different degree subjects, are finalists in the Babson Collaborative Global Student Challenge, a worldwide competition that encourages students to develop business ideas addressing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The winners will be announced at a virtual event on 28 May 2026.

OU Team Scotland’s proposal, called FIGPOD, focuses on a problem that affects millions of girls worldwide: the lack of safe, private places to manage their periods at school.  

In rural areas of The Gambia in West Africa, many girls begin missing school around the age of 13 or stop attending altogether, not because they do not want an education, but because schools lack suitable sanitation facilities. FIGPOD proposes tackling this issue through a UK‑based subscription service, backed by consumer research showing strong interest in sustainable period product subscriptions. Subscribers in the UK would receive biodegradable period products delivered to their homes each month.  

The profits would be used to fund the installation of safe, private toilet facilities in rural Gambian schools. The sanitation pods would include lockable cubicles, solar lighting, rainwater collection and sealed waste systems. The team estimates that one unit can support around 50 pupils and help prevent them from missing up to 60 days of school every year.

Khadijah Denton‑Bennett, the Student Team Lead for the OU’s Babson Challenge entry said:  
“Our idea shows how business can be used as a force for social change. FIGPOD is about dignity. It’s about making sure girls don’t lose their future simply because their school lacks a suitable toilet.”

Khadijah, aged 23, lives in Dumfries and Galloway and is studying towards a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Economics. She is joined by Glasgow-based OU teammates Shannon Beaumont, aged 24, studying for a Bachelor of Science Honours in Economics and Mathematical Sciences, and Emily Graver, 31, studying a Bachelor of Arts Honours in English Literature and Creative Writing.

The students are working together remotely, reflecting the OU’s model as experts in distance learning. They are supported with access to academic expertise from the OU’s Department for Public Leadership and Social Enterprise.  

The Open University joined the Babson Collaborative network of leaders in entrepreneurship education in 2025, through its Faculty of Business and Law.  

Participation in the Babson Collaborative Global Student Challenge was organised as a pilot project through the OU’s Research and Innovation Services Unit and its Open Business Creators initiative, which supports student entrepreneurship.  

We are incredibly proud to see our students demonstrating how education and entrepreneurship can come together to address real-world, global challenges."
Martin Boyle, Principal of The Open University in Scotland

The Challenge invites student teams from universities around the world to develop a feasibility analysis for a new business concept that could become a real venture. Each idea must address one or more of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, such as quality education, gender equality or clean water and sanitation.

Winning teams and runners-up will receive cash prizes of several thousand pounds and expert feedback to help develop their ideas further. The overall winners will also be invited to attend a week‑long entrepreneurship bootcamp at Babson College in Boston, USA.

OU students applied to participate individually and were then grouped into teams. The Scotland based team was selected as the OU’s official entry and have been shortlisted as finalists in the global competition.  

Martin Boyle, Principal of The Open University in Scotland said:  
“This achievement reflects the creativity, commitment, and social awareness of our students.  

"We are incredibly proud to see our students demonstrating how education and entrepreneurship can come together to address real-world, global challenges.”

The Open University in Scotland provides a range of supports for its entrepreneurial students and alumni, including through an Open Enterprise Network.

29 April 2026