Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique: Advisory services to establish and implement a Blue Economy project

Project Background

The “Employment Promotion for Women for the Green Transformation in Africa” (WE4D) programme is a multi-donor initiative commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and co-funded by the European Union (EU) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad). It is implemented in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. The key objective of the WE4D programme is to prioritise the promotion of employment and economic situation of women, with an emphasis on  companies driving the green transformation. The programme targets population groups of employable age with a focus on women and young people as well as people with disabilities.

This project is focused on the development of overarching WE4D goals within the sub-sectors of  Blue Economy (BE) which presents a compelling opportunity for sustainable development on multiple fronts. The BE on a whole provides a window of opportunity for growth potential both economically and with promoting environmental sustainability. It is essential for preserving, conserving, and rehabilitating ocean ecosystems, contributing to broader environmental well-being. In the context of WE4D it serves as an opportunity for job creation and income generation, playing a direct role in supporting local economies. This project aims to actively engage in fisheries and aquaculture and through doing so significantly contributing to food and nutrition security, further underscoring its multifaceted importance.

This project focuses on three nations on the western Indian ocean coast of Africa: Tanzania (Zanzibar), Kenya, and Mozambique, these three nations are endowed with extensive coastlines and abundant marine resources, potential hinges on the responsible and holistic utilisation of marine and coastal resources, aligning economic progress with environmental stewardship to create a harmonious and resilient future for coastal communities. The achievement of WE4D’s aims requires a prioritized focus on sustainable oceans and coastal management, economic development, and practices that either positively impact or have no negative impact on the ocean ecosystem. This is intended to promote a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive BE, where various opportunities emerge to advance the women’s economic empowerment for sustainable development and the WE4D initiative’s green transformation agenda.

Objectives

The overarching objective for the WE4D programme is the “The employment and economic situation of women, especially in companies that are driving the green transformation, has improved.” Combined with the objective of Norad’s ‘Oceans for Development’ programme”, managing the  sustainable use of coastal resources and promoting preservation of the marine environment are key aims in this project.

In order to achieve the overarching objective of WE4D in the context of Blue Economy, COFAD will select several value chains in each of the three countries where key interventions will be implemented to promote income, capacity building, job creation, business development, innovation and environmental stewardship.

Key value chains flagged for intervention in the three countries include:

• Capture fisheries
• Post-harvest production (reduction of post-harvest losses)
• Aquaculture (Tilapia, crab fattening, milk fish and sea cucumber)
• Mangrove honey
• Seaweed farming
• Eco-tourism
• Waste management (marine litter)

This will include close cooperation between COFAD and local fisheries, farms and entrepreneurs to support both economic development and sustainable best practices, including an emphasis on building the capacity of local fisheries management units and improving coastal governance in all three countries. The results of these interventions in the aforementioned value chains is intended to improve employment opportunities and working conditions for women and youth, the provision of vocational training in key sub-sectors, improved business capacity, implementing gender responsive approaches with in BE businesses, promoting/developing ecologically sustainable practices and forming key partnerships with leaders in the private sector.

Activities and/or Results

• Conduct Value Chain Analyses, baseline studies as well as sector skills and needs assessments in each country to ascertain which value chains are key for intervention.
• Development of good practices capacity building measures for value chain participants to adopt sustainable practices
• Implement initiatives / activities to enhance the overall well-being of workers, with a specific focus on women and youth, addressing issues of 'decent employment'.
• Facilitate the adoption of innovative solutions to enhance sustainability, efficiency, and productivity of BE sub-sectors.
• Promote financial readiness and access to capital or loans to support business expansion, innovation, and expending market reach.
• Support early-stage startups, providing guidance, resources, and fostering innovation.
• Develop short technical, social and ecologically sustainable training modules/programmes tailored to address identified needs within the BE sectors.
• Provide gender-responsive training and further education to VET Trainers and Teachers to deliver new training modules.
• Foster cross regional exchange amongst partners.
• Identify and address institutional capacity gaps within Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions
• Identify and support key regional partners for driving project goals.