Women entrepreneurs and leaders across Africa are overcoming barriers and achieving significant milestones through supportive networks. These networks enhance women’s leadership roles, influence gender-responsive policies, and promote financial inclusion, positively transforming economies and communities. Developing women's leadership Networks play an essential role in supporting women leaders in finance and entrepreneurship. They provide
In an era of rapid change and increasing challenges, women's networks have become influential social and economic transformation drivers. The Graça Machel Trust (GMT) recognises the strength of women's collective action. It supports networks across 20 African countries, enabling women entrepreneurs to succeed from grassroots to international levels. GMT supports diverse networks,
As we celebrate this year’s International Women's Month, we are reminded of the urgent need to accelerating action and opportunities for women. For women entrepreneurs to thrive, a supportive policy environment is crucial—one that ensures equal access to finance, markets, and business support services. While many governments have introduced gender-responsive policies, effective enforcement remains a
In celebration of Women’s Month 2025, we spotlight remarkable African women leaders from the Graça Machel Trust’s Expert Leaders Group (ELG). Among these trailblazers is Ms. Elsie Addo Awadzi, a leader whose 30-year career has been largely devoted to transforming financial systems and economies into more stable, resilient, and inclusive spaces. A career defined
For years, Neema Kaimila Mkangama had been running on empty. Her days at Neema’s Beauty Bar started early and stretched long into the evening. She was always working - always giving - yet the business she had poured her heart into wasn’t growing the way she had hoped. After another exhausting day, she
The Graça Machel Trust’s Pan-African Adolescent Girls’ Movement recently introduced a community outreach initiative—the Innovation Challenge—that enabled girls to identify key issues in their communities and design creative solutions with real impact. By collaborating with Womandla Foundation Trust and Errymaple High School in Zimbabwe, Future Lift Foundation and Break-through Centre in South Africa, and the Foundation for Adolescent Girls and Young People Zambia (FAPEZA) in Zambia,
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.