The Afrishela and Women Creating Wealth Programme’s investor showcase, held as a side event of the esteemed Sankalp Forum that happened between the 28th and 29th of February 2024 in Nairobi, was marked as a resounding success, amplifying the voices of female entrepreneurs and forging meaningful connections with investors.
Andia Chakava, Investment Director at the Graça Machel Trust and Afrishela.
In her opening remarks, Andia Chakava, Investment Director at the Graça Machel Trust and Afrishela, indicated the significance of comprehensive support systems necessary for businesses to grow. “We donât only have capital allocators in the room, we also have ecosystem providers, technical assistance players and people that support businesses,” Chakava said.
Entrepreneurs: Alexis Juma, Diana Nduku, Eunice Mukai, Adelaide Ngaruiya, Jacqueline Kithinji, Sharon Kinyanjui, Proscilla Mugi, Mwihaki Njehu and Mwende Mutinda with GMT Team: Jane Muia, Andia Chakava, Melissa Mwiti and New Faces New Voices Chairperson, Caroline Armstrong.
Eight dynamic women-led businesses, each presented their investment cases with fervour and determination. From innovative solutions in agriculture to ground-breaking technologies, the entrepreneurs captivated the audience with their ambitious growth plans. The event provided a unique platform for them to receive valuable feedback and guidance from seasoned investors, enabling them to refine their business strategies and strengthen their value propositions. The pitches underscored the entrepreneurs, problems their businesses are solving, operational models, financial projections, competition, risks, their organisational development, social impact and their investment ask.
Eunice Mukai, Global Organic Chicken Limited – Kenya
“This has been the most special showcase I have been involved in, having gone through the capacity building rigours to give me the confidence I need as a woman entrepreneur to venture in the business world with confidence, and the support I need to position my business strongly to investorsâ said Eunice Mukai, Founder and CEO of Global Organic Chicken.”
Participants were fully interested and engaged in the session.
The participatory nature of the pitches added an aura of dignity to the discussions where the audience had a chance to add value and offer advice, especially on finance. Investors listened keenly on what was fundable with one of the investors asking an investor to how many counties she would venture into if given an open cheque. This was very exciting and served as a pointer to how serious the investors were about the pitches and the confidence they have in women entrepreneurs. These strategic insights and valuable pointers will not only help the businesses presented but will help Afrishela and Women Creating Wealth (WCW) to gauge the readiness of the women.
Jacquiline Kithinji, Masedi Ltd- Kenya.
Jacqueline Kithinji, CEO of Masedi Ltd, highlighted the programme’s impact on her entrepreneurial journey crediting Afrishela and WCW for the training sessions on business development, organizational development, financial management and investor readiness given to the women entrepreneurs.
Part of GMT, Afrishela, WCW and NFNV-Kenya team.
The Afrishela gender lens investment vehicle incubated by the Graça Machel Trust, is a $30 million Pan-African Fund designed by African women for African women. It seeks to support businesses that may be perceived as too risky or costly for traditional lenders but have potential to grow. Women Creating Wealth (WCW) is a flagship programme at the Graça Machel Trust, focusing on entrepreneurship capacity building for women-led businesses. The programme is run in 7 countries in Africa and is supports thousands of women entrepreneurs to gain critical business and personal mastery skills.  The Trust creates an ecosystem that enables qualifying businesses to work with Afrishela, ensuring that businesses donât only get investor ready, but also get to pitch to relevant investors, closing the access to finance loop.
Melissa Mwiti
The WCW Kenya Country Coordinator, Melissa Mwiti, highlighted the transformative mindset shift instilled by the programme, emphasizing the holistic view of wealth beyond monetary gains. “We focus on supporting women move beyond looking at business as more than just a money generation tool, but as something to create generational wealth with. This means growing enterprises that positively but the communities they work within and their employees.â She also emphasized that the programme is designed to create an intergenerational impact by connecting young entrepreneurs with more established, mature ones so that they can learn from and support each other.
Sharon Kinyanjui, Everest Enterprises Limited
Her words showcased the efforts of Afrishela and WCW in promoting women-run businesses globally, exemplified by the work of Everest Enterprises Limited; A Kenyan family-owned export business trading in horticulture and floriculture aimed at enhancing the livelihoods of individuals and communities led by Sharon Kinyanjui.
Melissa Mwiti (WCW Country Program Coordinator-Kenya) with WCW coaches: Stephanie Nguku on the left and Ann Ichungwa on the right
In her post-event remarks, business coach Anne Ichungwa said, “Pitching builds an all-round, successful entrepreneur, with networks gained as a bonus,” This she added, âtranscends mere financial presentations to encompass confidence-building and negotiation skills.â
While the session was focused on Kenyan businesses, it has a Pan-African outlook to create equal opportunities for women-led business in Africa and acting as a voice of transformation on the global stage. Afrishela and WCW provide an opportunity for the business not only to have a stage at a regional level, but also at a country level at which the entrepreneurs can easily access networks and financing close to them.
In her closing remarks, Caroline Amstrong, Chairperson of New Faces, New Voices Kenya, hailed the showcase as enlightening and necessary and emphasized on its role in spotlighting capable entrepreneurs who often fly under the radar. “Programmes like this make them visible and are part of the conversation that converts potential to achievement,” she stated. New Faces, New Voices Kenya is a Graça Machel Trust network that focuses on women inclusion and meaningful participation in the financial sector.
Jane Mbinya, Senior Programme Officer, Afrishela.Â
The success stories shared by entrepreneurs like Eunice and Jacqueline underscored the transformative power of the showcase and the support provided by the Graça Machel Trustâs programmes and its partners. Moreover, it reaffirmed the Trustâs commitment to supporting women-led businesses and catalysing sustainable development on the continent. Through continued collaboration and strategic partnerships, the Graça Machel Trust remains steadfast in its mission to support women entrepreneurs unlock their full potential as drivers of economic prosperity.
Networking
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting childrenâs 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 Childrenâs Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescentsâ 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 Trustâs 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 motherâs health and social economic conditions, the early years of a childâs life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.