Johannesburg, South Africa
05/08/2020
120 business women based in South Africa make up a group of entrepreneur cohorts under the Graça Machel Trust (GMT) Women Creating Wealth (WCW) program, an Entrepreneurship Development Programme that has already positively impacted 300 high growth entrepreneurs in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia.
The programme commenced in February of 2020 and has seen the cohorts being empowered and continually collaborating, coaching and supporting each other’s businesses even during this “business unusual” time. This women’s month these wealth creators are taking action. The women are not only celebrating each other, but they are making a call to the world to join and support their social media campaign by going beyond likes and hashtags, by creating awareness and shining the spotlight on women in business and women-owned businesses in an effort to help them remain sustainable. It’s a well-known fact that money in the hands of women goes a long way to sustaining families and communities.
The campaign will see each of these women telling their business stories using self created videos. The main objective of the campaign is to create awareness about their business while encouraging their network and the society at large to support women owned businesses. The campaign also serves as a driver to create and maintain a culture of women continually supporting each other and committing to sharing other womens’ business capabilities on an ongoing basis.
You have been identified as one of the influential people in the advancement of South Africa and we would like to request you to join the movement by recording your own story about business and calling on South Africa to support women owned businesses. Please post your video on your social media platforms (please record your video in landscape, wearing black).
Hashtags to be used for the social media campaign are #gracamacheltrust #womencreatingwealth #supportherbusiness #womenbusinessowners #mindherbusiness #womensmonth.
END NOTES:
Contact Persons:
Sarah Mpata (GMT Communications Officer)
(071) 403 4648
sarahm@gracamacheltrust.org
Sarah Motshwane Sebetola (GMT- WCW Cohort and Co-owner of Tshepiso Branding Solutions)
(068) 599 9595
motshwane@tshepisobranding.co.za
Pumza Mthethwa (GMT- WCW Cohort and Director of Brandties Marketing Agency)
(083) 256 7273
pumza@brandties.co.za
About Graça Machel Trust
The Graça Machel Trust is a non-profit organisation that works in Africa to ensure women and children are put at the centre of Africa’s development agenda. Through building networks and alliances to champion transformative change, the Trust supports local initiatives and connects multi sectoral stakeholders at regional, national and sub-national levels to catalyse action that tackles institutional and social barriers to the advancement of women and children in Africa. By using its convening power, the Trust amplifies the voices of women and children; promotes the holistic development and protection of children, influences governance; and promotes women’s contributions and leadership in the second Liberation: the economic social and political development of Africa. Website: www.gracamacheltrust.org
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting children’s rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Children’s Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescents’ health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trust’s goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a mother’s health and social economic conditions, the early years of a child’s life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.