About GMT
“The journey towards full economic and social prosperity will only be achieved when women take the lead in setting the continent’s development agenda and have equal opportunities to participate at all levels in society.” - Graça Machel.
A Leading Pan-African Partner for Change
Graça Machel Trust (GMT) promotes and amplifies new and established visions and voices of African women and girls committed to developing prosperous and equitable African communities and nations. We promote systemic change through the impact of collective action and networks and strategic advocacy to dismantle key structural barriers that create gender disparities. We believe in supporting adolescent girls to exercise agency over their lives and challenge the social norms that constrict them, and in doing so grow into a new generation of strong, ethical African women leaders.
As a result, our work focuses on highlighting, promoting, documenting and supporting African women’s leadership, particularly in the economic and social spheres. This includes supporting adolescent girls’ agency and leadership; advocacy for women’s financial inclusion at different levels; supporting women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, thus driving greater economic advancement and security for women, communities and nations; promoting gender lens and impact-focused investment, while advocating for women and adolescent girls’ holistic rights in Africa and globally. We operate across Africa, with headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa and a satellite office in Nairobi, Kenya.
Our work has built on the passion of our Founder, Mrs. Graça Machel – a stateswoman, former liberation fighter, global champion, and renowned international advocate. Our approach has been to use the strategies she has used throughout her life – mobilizing the power of collective action, through vibrant networks and strategic partnerships.
Strategic goal 1: Accelerate women’s economic advancement
Build the skills of African women entrepreneurs at scale through Women Creating Wealth and Afrishela.
Women Creating Wealth
WCW is an entrepreneurship initiative focused on established African women entrepreneurs. It helps them develop the skills, tools, and networks needed to transform their businesses from income-generating to wealth-generating ones. This comprehensive programme addresses growth mindset, agency, personal mastery, and leadership, and provides participants with coaching, mentorship, and technical support. Additionally, it facilitates access to markets and finance for women entrepreneurs while working to highlight and dismantle discriminatory economic systems and processes.
The programme goes beyond the initial 10-months of experience. It also emphasizes the creation of a business community and after-care support. This ensures that women entrepreneurs can continuously benefit from networking, support, exchanges, learning opportunities, and collectively advocating for change.
Our impact & reach
- Over $10 million in capital funds raised in the last 2 years and thousands of lives impacted since inception
- 4 600+ current enrolment
- Currently participating countries: Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
Our Audacious Goal:
To support 10 000 women to scale their businesses to create 200 000 jobs (mostly for youth) and generate 1 billion USD in revenue, over the next 4 years.
What makes the Women Creating Wealth programme unique?
“We strengthen what the entrepreneurs are in control of, which is their agency, mindset, resilience, and skills. We also look at structural barriers and system change that require advocacy, which is at the heart of GMT’s work. Thus, we provide a 360-degree solution for women’s economic advancement.”
- We work with businesses that are older than two years and ready to grow
- We provide a comprehensive programme, extensive partnerships, and sustainable revenue models
- We offer our participants tailored support utilising the Goal Setting, Accountability, Inspiration, and Master (GAIM) methodology to enhance the performance and success of women entrepreneurs. This strategic approach combines essential elements to create a holistic and uplifting framework for entrepreneurial growth.
- We intentionally partner with specialised organisations and experts to develop interventions that provide access to markets and finance, as well as create gender-equal opportunities for women entrepreneurs to succeed.
- We provide tailored technical coaching and mentoring support
- We create access to networking opportunities.
“The confidence to approach potential funders, speak about my business and make bold but smart business decisions emanate from my time in the WCW Programme; navigating the learning platform and interacting with my coach.” – Participant from Uganda.
Sectors we work in:
- Agriculture and agri-processing,
- Construction,
- Education
- Finance
- Green/renewable energy
- Health & Wellness
- ICT
- Manufacturing
- Retail, Tourism & Hospitality
- Trade and services
- Renewable Energy/Green Energy
“GMT, please continue equipping us with pitching skills to boost our morale and increase our confidence. The pitching sessions were educative, interesting, and inspiring, such that we learned from each other.” – Participant from Zambia”.
Afrishela
Our impact investment thesis bets on women, adaptation to climate change, including the youth and integrating low-income communities as the formula to drive and maintain sustainable growth and ensure shared prosperity. People, Purpose and Profit.
Our investment approach
Afrishela has coined its investment strategy around gender lens investing and is targeting sectors where climate action would have the most impact. With deal sizes ranging from $20,000 to $500,000, we seek to address an underserved segment of the market that is often overlooked either due to its perceived risk or operating costs with funders seeking collateralised lending or bigger deal sizes.
We target the missing middle entrepreneur segment by focusing on early growth stage women-owned and led businesses with innovative, responsive financing using mostly self-liquidating structures.
Geographic Focus: East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda) and Southern Africa (Zambia, South Africa).
Priority Sectors: Agriculture and Agribusiness, Manufacturing, Retail & Wholesale Trade, Education, Health, Financial Services and Renewable Energy.
General Criteria: Revenue-generating (at least $60,000), been operating for at least 3 years, gross profit margins of 30%, year on year growth of 20%, cash flow positive (for debt like instruments).
Type of Funding Offered: Mezzanine financing (Revenue Based Financing, Mezzanine loans, variable interest loans, preference shares) & Equity financing.
Our impact investment thesis bets on women, adaptation to climate change, including the youth and integrating low-income communities as the formula to drive and maintain sustainable growth and ensure shared prosperity. People, Purpose and Profit.
Our investment approach
Afrishela has coined its investment strategy around gender lens investing and is targeting sectors where climate action would have the most impact. With deal sizes ranging from $20,000 to $500,000, we seek to address an underserved segment of the market that is often overlooked either due to its perceived risk or operating costs with funders seeking collateralised lending or bigger deal sizes.
We target the missing middle entrepreneur segment by focusing on early growth stage women-owned and led businesses with innovative, responsive financing using mostly self-liquidating structures.
Geographic Focus: East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda) and Southern Africa (Zambia, South Africa).
Priority Sectors: Agriculture and Agribusiness, Manufacturing, Retail & Wholesale Trade, Education, Health, Financial Services and Renewable Energy.
General Criteria: Revenue-generating (at least $60,000), been operating for at least 3 years, gross profit margins of 30%, year on year growth of 20%, cash flow positive (for debt like instruments).
Type of Funding Offered: Mezzanine financing (Revenue Based Financing, Mezzanine loans, variable interest loans, preference shares) & Equity financing.
Strategic goal 2: Putting women and adolescent girls at the center of the African policy agenda.
The Pan African Adolescent Girls’ Movement
Our Pan African Adolescent Girls’ Movement is a dynamic initiative committed to igniting the innate agency within these young minds, encouraging them to take charge of their lives confidently, stand tall for themselves, and become passionate advocates for their own rights. This indigenous African movement led and designed by adolescent girls themselves, addresses societal barriers that impede their holistic development.
Themes covered in the 12-month programme:
- Leadership and role modelling
- Education
- Health
- Climate action and food security and
Current participants: 950 +
Countries currently covered: Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Office of the Founder
The Office of the Founder (OOF) supports Mrs. Machel in her leadership of the Graça Machel Trust, advances global advocacy on issues of social justice, and spearheads projects of key importance to Mrs Machel. Mrs Machel is formally affiliated with over 20 international organizations, and OOF works in conjunction with them to amplify issues of gender equality and women’s leadership, global health equity, access to education, food security, conflict resolution, climate justice and good governance.
The OOF also works closely with GMT programme staff to elevate issues raised by women and adolescent girls in Africa to shape development agendas on Pan African and international platforms. Mrs. Machel’s lived experience and global leadership on a range of issues provides GMT with influential convening power and opportunities to link the voices and visions of African women to policy and legislative change, decision making tables, and influential advocacy platforms.
Strategic goal 3: Amplify the voices of African women
Networks
Underpinned by the belief that development of Africa is hinged on the sustained participation of women in socio-economic spheres at all levels and across sectors, we have networks in African 18 countries that work with our implementing partners on the ground to ensure that our work is based on lived experiences.
These networks, including African Women in Agri-Business, Women in Finance, Women in Green Energy & Climate Action, Women in Media, strive to drive change in Africa’s social, political, and economic spheres, contributing to the continent’s growth and development.