African women entrepreneurs transforming public procurement
Despite substantial contributions to Africa’s economic growth, particularly in SMEs and cross-border trade, women entrepreneurs face significant barriers in accessing public procurement opportunities. Limited awareness, complex digital requirements, and bureaucratic hurdles impede their economic participation. However, advocacy groups like COMFWB Malawi are leading the charge to implement gender-responsive procurement policies effectively, ensuring greater inclusion for women-led enterprises. Read more.
Advancing women’s economic progress: The Graca Machel Trust advocacy in action
Recent workshops in Malawi and Zambia brought together stakeholders to refine strategies and drive meaningful policy change, promoting inclusive economic growth and enhanced financial access for women entrepreneurs. Highlights include capacity-building sessions in Malawi and Kenya. Read more.
The transformative power of networks
In a rapidly evolving world, women’s networks have emerged as powerful catalysts for African social and economic transformation. From pioneering digital payment solutions in Cameroon to enhancing market access in Nigeria, these dynamic collaborations are reshaping the landscape of women’s entrepreneurship. Our Senior Programme Officer, Temitope Ogunlela reflects on this. Read more.
GMT networks continue to drive community transformation
African women’s networks are significantly boosting leadership, entrepreneurship, and financial inclusion through advocacy, strategic partnerships, and policy influence. Initiatives across Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, and beyond are driving economic resilience and gender equality. Read more.
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.