By eastafrican gazette
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has secured $100m to provide support for women and youth involved in the fisheries sector.
In collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation and Trade Mark Africa, the AfCFTA has launched a four-year Fisheries Program aimed at empowering women and youth in the fisheries economy.
The four project is to be implemented across seven countries and aims to create over 240,000 job opportunities and increase trade in fish and fish products by approximately $100 million by 2028.
The Women and Youth Economic Empowerment in Fisheries program aligns with the AfCFTA Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade, and seeks to enhance the participation of women and youth in the fisheries sector.
Ambassador Salim Walusimbi, AfCFTA Trade Promotions Expert and Programs Data Analyst, made this announcement during the 14th meeting of the Council of Ministers responsible for Trade in Zanzibar.
The program aims to address the structural challenges faced by women and youth when participating in the fisheries value chain.
It will provide training, facilitate access to markets and finance, establish supply chain linkages, develop digital solutions, simplify trade regulations, ensure compliance with standards, and enable easier cross-border market access.
This program builds upon the AfCFTA private sector strategy, which identified priority value chains to enhance intra-Africa trade and production.
TradeMark Africa will be responsible for implementing the program, benefiting Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, Nigeria, and selected Island states.