Years of Implementation: 31st October 2024- 31st October 2029
Areas of Implementation: Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
Funder: Master Card Foundation
The Women and Youth Economic Empowerment in Fisheries through Inclusive Market Access is a $5.1 million project funded by the Mastercard Foundation through TradeMark Africa (TMA) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Implemented by Kilimo Trust, this five-year initiative aims to enhance cross-border trade in fish and fish products for and by women and youth.
The project seeks to strengthen market linkages, aggregation, and logistics while addressing systemic challenges such as gender-based discrimination, limited access to finance, and inadequate skills.
The project focuses on the East African region, which demonstrates high readiness for regional and intra-regional trade due to abundant resources, significant production levels, and low export barriers. Key target countries include Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania (including Zanzibar), with Rwanda, DRC, Burundi, and other East African nations identified as potential destination markets for exported fish. Additionally, South Sudan and Malawi are expected to benefit from spillover effects, particularly from cross-border fish trade between Tanzania and Malawi/Zambia, and Uganda and South Sudan. While much of the regional fish trade from Uganda and Tanzania is conducted informally by small-scale traders, formal trade occurs at border posts such as Isebania and Lunga Lunga (Kenya/Tanzania), Busia and Malaba (Uganda/Kenya), Rusumo (Tanzania/Rwanda), and Kigoma (Tanzania/Burundi).
Kilimo Trust aims to reach 80,000 women and youth, with a particular focus on young women. Of these, 50,000 will be self-employed, and 30,000 will secure waged employment, with 56,000 of the total opportunities dedicated to young women. Participants will engage in an ecosystem that includes 40,000 MSMEs actively participating in cross-border trade.