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Johannesburg- South Africa, 13 March<\/strong>:\u00a0 The Gra\u00e7a Machel Trust (GMT) welcomes the recent recognition of its Founder Mrs. Gra\u00e7a Machel as one of Forbes Africa top 50 Influential women in Africa!<\/p>\n Machel graced the cover of the March Edition of Forbes Africa and was honoured last week for her role as one of the leading women in the continent who are in the frontline of closing inequalities and pioneering new avenues of wealth creation for women.<\/p>\n Speaking on this recognition of Machel by Forbes, GMT\u2019s Interim CEO\/ Programmes Director, Dr. Shungu Gwarinda said the organisation is very proud of its founder\u2019s achievement. She said, \u201cGra\u00e7a Machel being the leading face of the first ever Forbes list of 50 Powerful Women in Africa represents her life\u2019s mission as a liberation fighter, an advocate for women and children\u2019s rights globally. We stand on the shoulders of leading women like her who fought the first liberation of political freedom in Africa, and are still fighting for a second liberation for the economic advancement of women and girls. This represents the urgent need to multiply the number of dynamic leading women who are driving the effort to break down barriers and expand equality for women and girls across the African continent.\u201d<\/p>\n Gwarinda also added that Machel\u2019s achievement has come at an opportune moment as the organisation celebrates its 10th<\/sup> anniversary this year. In the coming few weeks as part of the 10th<\/sup> year anniversary celebrations, the organisation will be launching the Expanding Equality Initiative, a\u00a0forum designed to convene, connect and\u00a0catalyze action for the\u00a0next decade leading up to the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 deadline. The Initiative is a platform built\u00a0in partnership with seven powerful GMT Networks\u00a0and Partner organizations who share the Trust\u2019s ambition and\u00a0can contribute towards accelerating equality for women and girls across the continent.<\/p>\n To mark this incredible milestone, Machel told Forbes that she wishes to consolidate the institutions she has established. \u201cI want them to be strong enough to allow me to gradually \u2018retire from retirement\u2019 as Madiba would say. My energy will be reducing and by the time I decide I will not be at the head of my own institutions; I want them to carry on without feeling any kind of difference because of my absence. Secondly, I would like to identify a group of young women whom I can feel l had a direct impact to increase and amplify \u2018those\u2019 faces and \u2018those\u2019 voices. I would like that sense of community\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n Established in 2010 GMT has over the last 10 years played a key role in shifting the narrative on the lived realities of women and girls especially those from the most marginalised communities. A few of the Trust\u2019s key notable achievements \u00a0over the past decade include the establishment of innovative programming aimed at accelerating the economic advancement of women in Africa: Women Creating Wealth (WCW) is an enterprise development programme running in South Africa that assists female entrepreneurs and business owners to grow their businesses from micro to small, small to medium and medium to large business enterprises. It engages in capacity building initiatives, and creates entrepreneurs that can effectively respond to market needs, grow market share or diversify. Read more about this program\u2019s impact and 300 alumni in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia.<\/a><\/p>\n The African Women in Agribusiness Network (AWAB) was established to address food security challenges and identify opportunities for women in the agricultural sector. The network advocates for initiatives that enhance women\u2019s competitiveness in local and global markets. AWAB also seeks to foster market linkages for women, connecting them to opportunities in the agri-business sector.<\/p>\n In 2017,The Gra\u00e7a Machel Trust initiated the African Food Basket inclusive agri-business model for women. This helped 20 women entrepreneurs in Malawi and Zambia participate in the programme \u00a0that integrated women business owners into the Legume Seed Value Chain as growers and off-takers. The entrepreneurs were provided with seed and trained on the agri-business standard operating procedures. Each entrepreneur worked with 100 smallholder farmers trained in climate-smart agronomic practices to increase production and productivity. The project in Malawi developed 12 agro-dealer shops. Read more about the Africa Food Basket<\/a><\/p>\n To support women on the African continent to realize economic advancement, inclusive economic growth and to reduce inequalities, the Trust created an innovative financing Pan African gender lens investment fund that aims at facilitating the flow of capital to women-led enterprises to meaningfully improve their quality of life, increase business size and revenue, influence household incomes, boost economic and job growth across the \u00a0African continent. This initiative was designed by African women for African women. Read more about Women\u2019s Investment Fund<\/a><\/p>\n However, despite all these achievements challenges still remain as shared by Machel in her interview with Forbes. She pointed at some of the challenges that female entrepreneurs face when trying to access funding, \u201c\u2026there are still countries on this continent where if a woman has to start a business, she has to have permission from her husband. We are working to remove that kind of barrier. Women are not children; they are adults that know what they want to do. They should be recognized with their dignity and to start a business whenever they feel like it.\u201d<\/p>\n Machel emphasised on the structural barriers that women still struggle with while trying to be recognized and be valued for their potential to transform their economies and added that the intention of the Trust\u2019s Women\u2019s Economic and Social Advancement (WESA) program is to encourage and build self-confidence to enable women to claim their rights as a collective.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why we chose to work through networks. We also need to strategize because there are so many issues to deal with so you need to prioritize those which will have an impact in transforming institutions, transforming structures and would open avenues for many women to work\u201d she added.<\/p>\n ENDS<\/p>\n <\/p>\n About The Gra\u00e7a Machel Trust<\/strong><\/p>\n The Gra\u00e7a Machel Trust works with its various partners to promote women’s and children\u2019s networks for greater social and economic transformation in Africa. The Trust has created a unique approach that is centred on building movements. This way of working with and building networks, has enabled us to develop a model that links country, national, regional, continental and global advocacy efforts and programmes.<\/p>\n The Expanding Equality Initiative<\/strong> calls for action to address existing structural inequalities related to women and children in Africa. It is informed by the African Union\u2019s Agenda 2063\u00a0and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030\u00a0as\u00a0development frameworks\u00a0that aim to deliver on inclusive and sustainable development.<\/p>\n