Strengthening Women-Led Fish Value Addition Enterprises in Western Kenya

By Olive Molo and Rahma Adam

Investing in skills, dignity, and opportunity

From 16–18 December 2025, the Africa Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), in partnership with WorldFish, convened a capacity-building training on fish value addition at Kakione Beach, Sindo, in Homa Bay County. The training brought together small-scale fish processors, traders, and value-chain actors, predominantly from women-led and mixed enterprises operating across Homa Bay and Migori counties within the Lake Victoria fisheries system. There were 32 participants in total, including 22 women and 10 men.

The activity responded to persistent challenges faced by women in small-scale fisheries, including high post-harvest losses, limited access to improved processing technologies, weak compliance with food safety standards, and gender inequalities in enterprise ownership, decision-making, and benefit sharing. Beyond transferring skills, the training created space for reflection, confidence building, and collective action toward more inclusive and market-oriented enterprises.

An integrated and hands-on learning approach

The training adopted an experiential learning model that linked four core elements: improved fish smoking and solar drying technologies; food safety and quality assurance practices (including hygiene, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), packaging, labelling, and and regulatory compliance); enterprise development using the Business Model Canvas; and gender-transformative learning through the Gender Action Learning System (GALS). This integrated approach enabled participants to explore how technical practices, business decisions, and gender relations interact to shape enterprise performance, household wellbeing, and livelihood outcomes.

Learning together, learning by doing

Participants, including members of Kakione, Sori, Wacho Gi Timo, Samaki, and Ziwani women’s groups, as well as women entrepreneurs from Homa Bay Town, Sori, and Gingo, engaged in demonstrations, hands-on processing, group discussions, and peer learning. Institutional stakeholders, including fisheries and public health officers, contributed regulatory perspectives and opened dialogue on gaps and opportunities for county-level support.

Through practice, participants observed how hygiene, temperature control, airflow, and moisture management directly affect product quality, shelf life, and market acceptance. Food safety was increasingly reframed from a perceived regulatory burden to a cornerstone of consumer trust and business growth.

Reflecting on power, vision, and enterprise growth

A defining feature of the training was the integration of GALS. Using visioning tools, groups reflected on power relations, labor distribution, and decision-making across the value chain, and articulated aspirations for 2026. These included scaling up production, improving branding and certification, and expanding market reach. At the same time, participants identified structural constraints such as limited access to food-grade equipment, capital, and certification, and acknowledged the importance of more equitable household and enterprise-level decision-making.

Lessons and the road ahead

The training highlighted strong readiness among women-led enterprises to adopt improved technologies when learning is practical and participatory. Demand for smoking kilns and solar dryers remains high, underscoring persistent equipment gaps. Sustained impact, however, will require follow-up mentoring, certification support, market linkages, and clearer institutional ownership of shared infrastructure.

Looking ahead, participants emphasized the value of continued learning through localized follow-up trainings, exchange visits, and the development of model fish smoking and drying hubs. Strengthening collaboration between WorldFish, ACTS, county governments, and community groups will be essential to ensure women-led fish value addition enterprises can grow with confidence, dignity, and resilience.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was undertaken as part of the CGIAR Scaling for Impact (S4I) Science Program, CGIAR Gender Equality and Inclusion Accelerator, and the CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program. Special gratitude is owed to the fisher communities, women, men and youth of Homa Bay and Migori counties who provided valuable learnings from the communities, and they are residing and working in. The CGIAR S4I and Multifunctional Landscapes Science Programs, and the CGIAR Gender Equality and Inclusion Accelerator are grateful for the support of CGIAR Trust Fund Contributors: www.cgiar.org/funders.