As part of its $200 Million Equitable Access Initiative, Visa Foundation commits $1 Million to two local organizations â AfriLabs and Graça Machel Trust â building on its efforts to support gender diverse and inclusive small and micro businesses  Today at the 10th Africa Sankalp Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, Visa Foundation announced a $1 Million grant partnership with
March is globally recognised as Women's Month. The United Nations and UN Women celebrate this day by showcasing the incredible achievements of women around the globe and the victories they have attained to bring us closer to gender-equal societies. Â As we conclude the International Women's Month celebrations, it is important to reflect on the
Five inspiring facts about Jacqueline Dube. Â In the next five years, we should be the biggest local producer of textile garments and be able to compete with imported finished garments so that we contribute towards the government's import substitution. We should have created over 500,000 direct and indirect jobs and set up another textile
It has been over 29 years since the Zambian Federation of Associations of Women in Business (ZFWAB), which hosts the Graça Machel Trustâs Network of Women in Business (NABW), was established. Located in Lusaka capital of Zambia, ZFAWIB is a country-level non-governmental organisation which has successfully promoted womenâs entrepreneurial activities in all sectors of the
Women's financial inclusion should include a collective effort to ensure all women have adequate access to appropriate financial products. "Women are significant contributors and drivers of economic growth through entrepreneurship and their involvement in the labour market. The Graça Machel Trust's Chief Executive Officer, Ms Melizsa Mugyenyi, underlined this point during the Southern Africa Regional
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Conference on Women and Youth in Trade, convened under the patronage of Tanzania President H.E. Samia Suluhu Hassan and in conjunction with the Government of Tanzania, Champion of Women and Youth in Trade under the AfCFTA Conference themed "Women and Youth: The Engine of AfCFTA Trade in Africa"
Women are significant contributors and drivers of economic growth through entrepreneurship and their involvement in the labour market. Although women-owned businesses have increased over the years, women continue to encounter many obstacles in sustaining their businesses, especially access to finance. Women require a level playing field in the banking and financial sector that will enable
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.