To become better partners, banks are encouraged to design new ways to assess women entrepreneurs’ full scale, including track record, entrepreneur profile, and how women in business manage to pay debts, overheads, and suppliers. On 8th March 2022, the Graça Machel Trusts’ Women Economic and Social Advancement (WESA) Programme launched a Financial Inclusion Project Documentary to mark this years’ Women’s Month celebrations. The launch, which took place virtually via Zoom and Facebook Live, spotlighted the impact stories of some of the women entrepreneurs from the “missing middle” who have completed the Graça Machel Trust’s flagship programme, Women Creating Wealth (WCW) in South Africa.Â
This documentary zooms into a recent Documenting Financial Inclusion Research study conducted by the Trust. This study highlights Best Practices of Women Entrepreneurs in South Africa and Zambia, and this documentary mainly focuses on South African based entrepreneurs’ experiences. It captured the experiences of women entrepreneurs in South Africa. Through this documentary, the Trust advocates for women’s financial inclusion to reach out to ecosystem actors, investors, regulators, and other relevant stakeholders with the capacity to take forward the mandate of building and contributing toward a financially inclusive ecosystem for women entrepreneurs.Â
The documentary spotlights women entrepreneurs based on the impact stories drawn from the Women Creating Wealth (WCW) entrepreneurs who participated in the study. It amplifies the stories and experiences of women entrepreneurs in accessing finance through storytelling, focusing specifically on the case studies Financial Inclusion Project -Access to Finance for Women Entrepreneurs in South Africa and Financial Inclusion Project â Women Creating Wealth -The Zambian Story.Â
The purpose is to launch the documentaries produced both in South Africa and Zambia to amplify women entrepreneurs’ work and advocate for women’s financial inclusion as key role players within the financial inclusion ecosystem. These documentaries will work as advocacy tools which the Trust will use as part of its advocacy strategy to reach out to donors, investors and other relevant stakeholders with the capacity to take forward the mandate of building and contributing towards an inclusive financial ecosystem for women entrepreneurs. Speaking during the launch, Maphepane Pepsi Baiocco, CEO of NeOn Energy, shared how she manages to navigate around some of the challenges she faces as a women entrepreneur.Â
“Resilience is something within us. As women entrepreneurs, we are responsible for taking care of others, and it still boggles my mind the way financial inclusion is lacking and slow when women are nurtured and are the majority of the population. Yet, the same people are not getting what they are supposed to be getting” Maphepane Pepsi Baiocco- CEO: NeOn Energy.
Kekeletso Khena, Founder of K Squared Group, said, “There is a need for a diversified approach when looking to support women. Money alone is not enough. Women need to get structures, like lawyers, CEOs and accountants to help them grow these businesses.” Also on the panel were voices from Bridget Lebala, ChambrayLine Fabrics, Hayley Eagle, Jamsco Automotive Assemblies (Pty) Ltd, Thandiswa Mbobo, Founder: Refinement Energy and Julia Kamadi, Founder of Kamadi Consulting, who shared their experiences.Â
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.