In November the Graça Machel Trust held an Investor Showcase session in Johannesburg South Africa. This was orgnised by our two programmes; Women Creating Wealth (WCW) and Afrishela (Gender Lens Investment vehicle), bringing together –a dynamic mix of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts.
Jane Muia, Senior Investment Officer at Afrishela, set the tone for the session. Her opening remarks underscored the Trust’s commitment to enabling women entrepreneurs across Africa. The Trust’s impactful work focuses building women entrepreneuers’s capacity to get investor ready, identify markets and connect to potential funders, establishing crucial networks for women in business.
Having been nurtured through WCW and Afrishela, the session served as a great platform for entrepreneurs to showcase their businesses,. They not only presented their compelling business pitches but also engaged in meaningful interactions with a diverse array of investors who provided feedback as well as suggestions on how each entrepreneur can enhance their business pitches for future, overcome challenges and stand out in the marke. This invaluable opportunity provided entrepreneurs with deep insights into the preferences of potential funders, fostering connections and generated leads for potential collaboration and investments.
Entrepreneurs pitched their innovative businesses and showcased their passion and dedication to their brands: From a fashion retailer seeking funding for expansion; producer of non-alcoholic ginger beer, ready to scale production; a wellness sector player providing executive coaching; an innovator improving driver safety in the transportation sector.
Sector stakeholders
- The Department of Small Business Development emphasised supporting women-owned businesses in various sectors, not just concentrated industries.
- The Development Bank of Southern Africa highlighted its focus on funding economic infrastructure, including ICT, energy, transport, health, and education initiatives.
- W-Cap, Mamor Capital, and Microtraction presented diverse investment opportunities for businesses targeting Zambia, Namibia, and South Africa.
The pitch session showcased the innovation and determination of women entrepreneurs in our programmes, across diverse sectors.
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.