Women drive social change
ON MISSION TO HIGHLIGHT FAIRER SEX AS ENGINES FOR ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION Africa’s women are a powerful untapped force and creating more opportunities for them will improve the continent.
The Graca Machel Trust has announced that it will launch a pan-African initiative to “multiply the faces and amplify the voices” of African women as a force for economic and social transformation. The trust will convene the first-ever Women Advancing Africa (WAA) Forum in 2017 to highlight the critical role women play in shaping the continent’s development.
Over the past decade, Africa has experienced unprecedented economic growth, but women and children have shared least in its prosperity. Today, African women constitute 70% of the informal economy. One third of Africa’s formal small and medium-sized enterprises are owned by women, but only 47% of these are financially served. Africa’s women are a powerful untapped force and creating more opportunities for them to participate in the economy will improve their earning potential, help families move out of poverty and drive inclusive and sustainable growth.
WAA plans to build an intergenerational movement of women whose experience and wisdom will lead to collective action in addressing these economic imbalances. To identify priorities and help shape the agenda for the inaugural WAA Forum, the trust convened a roundtable meeting of African women leaders across sectors in Magaliesburg. The intimate gathering was hosted by Machel, who shared her vision for WAA and invited participants to share their stories and develop targeted goals for the initiative moving forward.
“Africa’s continued journey toward 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,” Machel said.
“Now is the time to shape a collective agenda for the economic advancement of the continent’s women.”
At the meeting, more than 40 African women leaders worked together to identify priorities and outline key focus areas for the 2017 forum. Under the overarching theme of driving social and economic transformation, WAA will focus on three core pillars in 2017: promoting financial inclusion, increasing market access and driving social change.
“It is rare to experience a completely safe space, in which we can tell our truth, own our stories and challenge each other,” reflected Renee Ngamau, a participant and member of the Graca Machel Trust Women in Media Network.
“The WAA roundtable created that space and challenged me to powerfully take on next steps in my journey; not just for myself, but for other women younger, or less privileged than I am.”
The trust has selected APCO Worldwide, the largest womenowned communications firm in the world, to be the convening partner for the WAA initiative.
Working closely with the Graca Machel Trust, APCO will leverage its global network and communications expertise to bring the initiative to life at the inaugural meeting. The forum will take place next year in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and be attended by at least 250 of Africa’s most influential women leaders, the continent’s rising stars and committed global champions.
Initial support for the WAA initiative has also been provided by founding sponsor, The Intel Foundation. Through the “She Will Connect Program”, Intel will also establish a dedicated online platform to connect a pan-African community of women leaders.
Additional support has been provided by the UPS Foundation, Discovery, The United Nations Foundation, The Skoll Foundation and the Bridgeway Foundation. These partners share the trust’s belief that advancing women economically is crucial to the health and prosperity of African families, communities and nations.
A detailed communique outlining the next steps and actions to be taken by the trust is forthcoming.
For more information about the Women Advancing Africa Initiative and the Graça Machel Trust, please visit ; Facebook: Twitter: @G_MachelTrust or e-mail