Empowering women, one sanitary towel at a time

Entreneurship

In the heart of Siyabuswa, Mpumalanga, Dimakatso Kanyane’s vision for a better tomorrow is taking shape through Dillets Sanitary Towels.

Founded in 2022, this innovative start-up is addressing a critical need with a deeply personal origin story. For Kanyane, the journey to creating Dillets began during her teenage years when she struggled with severe period pains, heavy flow, and leakages due to the lack of suitable sanitary towels.

“I was the last person in my group of friends to start her period,” Kanyane recalls. “I was 16. I suffered severe period pains, leakages, and heavy flow because there wasn’t a sanitary towel that met my specific needs. It was this journey that led me to develop Dillets sanitary towels.”

Kanyane’s path to entrepreneurship was unconventional. A civil engineering graduate from the Tshwane University of Technology in 2015, she also holds a degree in human resources from the University of Pretoria. Her professional career initially flourished in construction and consulting, but a yearning for innovation and tangible impact led her to pivot.

“I was a human resource practitioner at a private company for several years,” she explains.

“The company was involved in construction and consulting. Later, I joined a construction firm and developed a passion for the industry. However, after completing my degree and starting a construction company, I realised my true calling lay elsewhere. I wanted to create a product that could make a difference—something I couldn’t imagine happening in construction.”

Motivated by her high school experiences, Kanyane embarked on a two-year research journey to conceptualise the perfect sanitary towel. Her process involved surveying over 100 individuals through social media and door-to-door interviews in her community. The feedback was clear: there was a demand for organic, skin-friendly sanitary towels that minimised adverse reactions.

“Most respondents said they wanted organic sanitary towels that wouldn’t cause any reactions,” Kanyane explains.

Initially sourcing finished products from China, Kanyane’s growing customer base and overwhelming demand spurred her decision to establish local production. Today, Dillets is a fully operational business employing six staff members in Siyabuswa.

Dillets’ remarkable progress was celebrated in November 2024 when it won the Start-Up Business of the Year award at the National Presidential Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises & Cooperatives Awards.

The award came with a R200,000 cash prize. Over the years, the company has received financial backing from key institutions such as the National Youth Development Agency, Small Enterprise Development & Finance Agency (SEFDA), the Mpumalanga Office of the Premier, and the National Lotteries Commission.