“Car parts,” says Sara Eklund, shaking her head. “They had no idea what they were, so they took a wild guess.” Eklund had hurdles importing the first menstrual cups into Ethiopia, but she hadn’t anticipated having to explain to confused customs officials what the small, pink silicone cups were used for.
She had finally got a green light to bring an initial 200 Noble Cups into the country, only to have them confiscated by the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority (Erca) – over apparent paperwork issues. But Eklund was not deterred. “I thought: go big or go home.” So she went for 5,000 in her second shipment.
