Fruitful deliberations between Busia County Governor Dr Paul Otuoma and a team from TradeMark Africa have set the stage for a renewed push to unlock the county’s vast fisheries potential. The discussions, which brought together TradeMark Africa’s Director of Business Competitiveness Anataria Uwamariya, Kenya Country Director Lilian Mwai and the Governor, centred on how the Women and Youth Economic Empowerment in Fisheries Through Market Access Programme can work with women and youth in the county’s fisheries sector to enable decent and sustainable livelihoods across the value chains.

Governor Otuoma noted that while Busia sits strategically as a trade and logistics gateway between East and Central Africa, the county’s fisheries output falls short of its potential. He highlighted the need for robust frameworks that integrate local communities into East Africa’s trade networks, backed by investments in infrastructure such as roads, electricity, cold storage and processing facilities. “The Victoria Lake Region Economic Bloc has about 15 million people who depend on the lake for their livelihoods. We must handle these resources with care and sustainability if we are to ensure long-term prosperity,” he remarked.

The conversation revealed a raft of challenges and opportunities: limited access to finance for small traders, gaps in fingerling quality, high cost of feed, and fragmented policies across counties and national jurisdictions. Multiple levies at borders and within counties, continue to suffocate small-scale businesses that should instead be supported to grow. “If we organise traders, particularly women and youth, into cooperatives, we make training, compliance and cross-learning easier. The opportunities across the fish value chain—from feed to processing and hides to powdered protein—can lift thousands out of poverty,” the Governor noted.

For TradeMark Africa, the focus is on building competitiveness. Uwamariya emphasised the Programme’s role in enhancing the capacity of women and youth, scaling fish feed production—including sustainable alternatives such as Black Soldier Fly (BSF)— digitalising trade processes including e-commerce, logistics and cross-border payments to widen market opportunities. Safeguarding issues also emerged with a call to create safe trading spaces for women and youth.

Uwamariya also underlined the urgency of tackling structural barriers that increase costs and hinder growth. “In essence, we are suffocating businesses that we should be helping to thrive. When local fish costs more than imports, it undermines the very communities we want to empower,” she observed.

The discussions were held under the auspices of the Fisheries Programme, implemented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and TMA in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. The initiative aims to create more than 242,000 jobs by 2028.