Chileshe Kapwepwe is the first female Secretary General of COMESA!
18th July 2018, Lusaka, Zambia
We congratulate Ms. Chileshe Kapwepwe on her appointment as the first female Secretary General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) on the 18th July 2018. The Women in Finance Network, New Faces New Voices (NFNV) is proud to have this African leader as part of the movement to empower women on the African continent. Ms. Kapwepwe is a dedicated member of our female leaders in the Zambia chapter of NFNV and the Trust values her leadership contributions.
Leah Diana Mitaba wins the Women in Business Awards 2018!
18th July 2018, Lusaka, Zambia
The Trust’s New Faces New Voices recognises its Zambian chapter member, Leah Diana Mitaba on being the 2018 top 10 finalist for the Empretec Women in Business Award during a colourful event that took place on 18th July, in Lusaka, Zambia. The United Nations conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) awarded Women in Business during this event which was jointly organised by UN Women and the Commonwealth Women Business Forum. The prestigious award seeks to celebrate exceptional businesswomen and is granted to women-owned businesses for the promotion of entrepreneurship in 40 developing countries for their outstanding achievements in running micro and small businesses. Leah is a recent graduate of the Women Creating Wealth programme and her business venture is called Butterfly Initiatives, a cooperative which produces fruits and vegetable. These awards seek to celebrate businesswomen who are excelling in their area of specialization and have been beneficiaries of UNCTADâs global entrepreneurship training network. The winners of the award will be announced on the 25th of October, 2018 at the World Investment Forum, taking place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. We wish Leah all the best!
Sebenzile Nkambule gets awarded the Fulbright Humphrey Fellowship
We are proud of our Women in Media Network champion Sebenzile Nkambule for being awarded the Fulbright Humphrey Fellowship to study at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix, Arizona in the United States. Sebenzile was also selected to be part of the Obama Africa leaders programme. She was selected to be among the 200 rising leaders from 44 African countries. The one-year leadership development and civic engagement programme aims to train, support and connect emerging African leaders to create positive change in their communities. The programme was launched by former US President Barrack Obama on July 14, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Salome Mauki wins the Gender Lens Investing prize
Salome Mauki won the Gender Lens Investing prize. Salome is the Director of Dresa Modern Butchery. Dresa Modern Butchery is a retail meat company whose annual revenues averages $145,920 and her pitch investment ask was $45,000. The butchery operates in the capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salam.
âI feel encouraged and motivated by the decision of the judges to pick me as one of the winners. This is proof that others are seeing the need that I saw when I started my business to sell fresh beef, free range poultry products, fresh fish, domestic and a variety of food spices.”
Through this achievement, Salome hopes to increase butchery production and market share from 32 percent to 55 percent.
This was a great opportunity for Tanzania women entrepreneurs since the programme aims at improving their bankability and helps them engage with investors, build confidence and raise their business profiles. Prospective investors also get a chance to familiarize themselves with different components of gender lens in the region. Andia Chakava, who is the Kenya New Faces New Voices Chapter director said she was proud of the womenâs efforts and achievements as such platforms help to improve investability and visibility.
Gender lens investing gives an opportunity to deploy capital meaningfully in the search of better outcomes for women and girls. It incorporates gender analysis within the financial analysis process and is about how gender informs how and what we value, how we balance power dynamics and therefore how we invest.
Andia Chakava: National Diversity and Inclusion Award 2018 winner!
29th June 2018, Nairobi, Kenya
Congratulations to our Investment Director Andia Chakava on being awarded the National Diversity and Inclusion Awards (DIAR) n. The DIAR Award is organized annually by Daima Trust Limited and it aims at celebrating excellent achievements of individuals and organizations who are champions of a more peaceful, united, equal and inclusive societies and it gives them recognition for their commitment and hard work.
âThe award made me feel most accomplished and more inspired to boost our collective efforts to drive women economic empowerment in the continent. It was a humbling recognition by the Kenyan public to the efforts we have undertaken as New Faces New Voices Kenya with support from the Graca Machel Trust over the years… It is a demonstration that no matter how little resources you think you have, you are capable of making a difference and impacting lives. I thank the Graca Machel Trust for giving me a platform and shining a spotlight on our activities. Together we growâ. Andia Chakava- NFNV, Kenya.
Read more about the Women’s Economic and Social Advancement programme
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.