Zubaida Bai is widely regarded as an expert and a leader in the field of engineering design for low-cost health products customized for the developing world. Her work at the bottom of the pyramid demonstrates her passion for empowering underserved women and girls. Her company, ayzh, designs vital healthcare products for women and girls in poverty. She co-founded ayzh, pronounced ‘eyes’, almost 7 years ago with the goal of bringing simplicity, dignity, and access to the poorest women in India via their Clean Birth Kit in a Purse, ensuring a safe and sanitary delivery. Now she and her growing company are expanding their kit style approach to include reproductive, maternal, child + adolescent health products, extending these values and empowerment to millions of women and children throughout the developing world. ayzh is positioned to become a leader in the space of sustainable, social business focused on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. In June 2016, Zubaida was named an SDG Pioneer at the UN’s SDG Global Compact Summit for her work. A World Economic Forum ‘Young Global Leader’, her passion and determination continue to attract strategic partnerships from around the world. Day by day ayzh puts life-changing products into the hands of women who need them the most. low-cost health products appropriate for the developing world." A guest speaker at the Women In The World Summit 2016, Bai's tireless and thoughtful advocacy for change led to a TED Residency in fall of 2016 in New York.
Biography
Bai was raised in Chennai, India. She was the first person in her family to pursue post-secondary education; her female relatives typically married in adolescence. Ms. Bai holds a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering Specializing in Development of Modular Products, and an MBA in Social and Sustainable Enterprises.
Career
Due to unsanitary birth conditions, Bai developed an infection after giving birth to her first child which "caused her to suffer for years." This inspired her to help rural women who needed access to healthcare. Bai founded the company Ayzh in 2010, with the goal of bringing simplicity, dignity, and access to the poorest women in India via their Clean Birth Kit in a Purse by ensuring a safe and sanitary delivery.
Awards
Bai was named a TED Fellow in 2009, an AshokaMaternal Health fellow in 2010–2011, and an Echoing Green fellow in 2012. In 2011, her design for JANMA, a clean birth kit, was selected by INDEX Awards as one of 61 products "globally designed to improve life." In June 2016, Zubaida was named an SDG Pioneer at the UN’s SDG Global Compact Summit for her work.
