Dr. Sekadende interacting with participanst during the workshop
Breaking down barriers to regional trade requires more than policy—it requires people, partnerships, and practical market connections. That spirit was on full display in Mwanza, Tanzania, where more than 70 delegates from across East Africa gathered last week for the Regional Market Access B2B Workshop under the Women and Youth Economic Empowerment in Fisheries through Inclusive Market Access (WYEEFIMA) programme.
The event brought together fish traders, processors, cooperatives, logistics providers, financiers, and policymakers to forge new business relationships and unlock opportunities for women, youth, and persons with disabilities across the fisheries value chain. At its heart was a simple but powerful mission: connect small-scale fisheries enterprises to higher-value regional markets and strengthen their ability to participate in and benefit from cross-border trade.
For Dr. Baraka Sekadende of Tanzania's Acting Fisheries Director, the workshop represented exactly the kind of convening the sector needs.
"What we have seen here today is remarkable — all the key stakeholders, from governments to traders to support organisations, sitting together in one room. This is how we break the barriers that have held back our regional fish trade for too long. When we work together like this, we boost trade, we create jobs, and we build the kind of East Africa our people deserve.
Rachel Ajambo, Programme Manager for WYEEFIMA at Kilimo Trust, reflected on what the workshop means for the broader programme ambition.
"The DRC alone needs over a million metric tons of fish every month — and we have the fish, right here in our lakes. What we have lacked are the connections, the trust, and the trade systems to move that fish efficiently and fairly. Today we are building those connections. We are here in Mwanza because this is where trade happens — and we want to make sure women and youth are at the centre of it."
The deal rooms buzzed with energy as traders negotiated, exchanged contacts, and signed agreements that many said they had been waiting years to make.
Beatrice Teofili Mbaga, founder of the Women's Fish Workers Association from Mara, Tanzania, spoke of the transformative power of coming together.
"We have been doing this business for a long time, but often alone. We go to Congo, we go to Kenya, we cross borders — but without support, without linkages. What Kilimo Trust has done is show us that we do not have to do this alone. We are the same — Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, DRC — we face the same problems. If we see change today, we will be happy."
Veronica Uma, a fish trader and mother doing business across East Africa, was equally candid about the practical barriers that traders face daily.
"When you go to Congo, you use dollars. When you go to Uganda, you change dollars. When you go to Kenya, you change again. By the time you count your costs, the profit is gone. We need harmonised policies, we need one currency, we need borders that don't treat us like criminals when we are just going to sell fish." She added: "Even in the few hours we have been here, I have already received orders. That is what this workshop means to me."
From the DRC, Arun Kayumba Mutongole, a cooperative leader, spoke about the power of cross-border solidarity.
"Fish from Kenya, fish from Tanzania — it all goes to Congo. We are connected whether we know it or not. What this process gives us is unity and awareness. You cannot do this work without knowing who you are working with and where it will go. Today, we know."
The workshop catalysed over 30 business deals across the fish products, seaweed, animal feeds, and aquaculture value chains. More than 40% of participants established direct connections with new suppliers or buyers. Business agreements were signed between traders from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, DRC, and Zanzibar — a concrete demonstration that regional trade integration is not just a policy aspiration but a daily economic reality for the women and youth who power the fisheries sector.
The WYEEFIMA programme continues its work across the East African Community to ensure that the women and youth who sustain the region's fisheries sector are no longer confined to its margins — but positioned at its centre.