The Graça Machel Trust is a leading advocate for women’s economic advancement across Africa. Through strategic policy engagement, capacity-building workshops, and high-level advocacy, the Trust breaks down barriers and creates opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
Strengthening Advocacy for Women Entrepreneurs
Recently, the Trust hosted Advocacy Review Workshops in Malawi and Zambia. These events provided a platform to assess progress, address challenges, and refine advocacy strategies for advancing women’s social and economic well-being. More than 50 key stakeholders participated, including Trust’s Community of Practice members. The workshops were co-hosted with the COMESA Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB) Malawi and the Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business (ZFAWIB) to strengthen advocacy efforts and drive meaningful.
Key Outcomes:
- In Malawi, stakeholders focused on promoting the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets (PDA) Order, which will help create more business opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
- In Zambia, participants reviewed the Movable Collateral Registry, a key tool for improving women’s access to finance.
These discussions reinforced the importance of collaboration in shaping policies that support inclusive economic growth and ensure that women entrepreneurs have a voice in decision-making processes.
Supporting Women Entrepreneurs in Malawi and Kenya
In Malawi, Mzuzu district, a workshop welcomed 90 women entrepreneurs, offering training on financial planning, market engagement, and operational efficiency. Hosted in partnership with COMFWB Malawi and the Mzuzu District Council, the session was more than just training—it was a space for women to discuss challenges in accessing finance and markets while building a strong support network. This initiative enabled women gain practical skills and inspired them to take charge of their economic futures.
Photo: Participants during the institutional capacity building exercise in Mzuzu, Malawi
In Nairobi, Kenya, the Trust co-hosted a Stakeholder Mapping and Analysis Workshop with New Faces New Voices (NFNV) Kenya. The event brought together government officials, private sector leaders, and civil society representatives to tackle key challenges for women-led businesses. As a result, a new Community of Practice was established to guide future policy improvements.
Photo: Participants during the stakeholder mapping and analysis in Nairobi, Kenya.
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.