The Convener of the Africa Blue Economy Roundtable, Dr. Piriye Kiyaramo, has called for urgent inclusion of women in maritime governance and ocean policymaking, warning that Africa cannot build a sustainable Blue Economy without empowering the women who power the sector.
Speaking on the need for a dedicated ABER Women’s Wing, Kiyaramo said the platform would shift women from being passive beneficiaries of maritime policies to active architects of Africa’s ocean economy.
“Women account for 50 to 70 percent of Africa’s post-harvest fisheries workforce,” he said. “They process the fish, manage the trade, run the micro-credit groups, and sustain coastal markets. In Cameroon’s coastal regions alone, women traders handle more than 80 percent of artisanal fish catches.”
Despite this, Kiyaramo noted women remain largely absent from decision-making structures, holding less than 10 percent of seats on maritime policy bodies, port authority boards, fisheries committees, and international delegations.
“The people who live and work on the water every day must have a voice at the table,” he said. “When women are excluded from policy discussions, the solutions we design fail. We get safety rules that ignore women’s boats, cold storage that overlooks women processors, and environmental programs that miss the expertise of women who guard our coasts daily.”
Citing studies across African coastal communities, he said women-led groups often show stronger compliance with conservation measures, including closed seasons and Marine Protected Area regulations. He described women as the “early warning system” of coastal communities – first to spot pollution, illegal fishing, shoreline erosion, and safety risks.
Kiyaramo said the proposed Women’s Wing would serve as a direct bridge between grassroots women and key institutions including ABER, WIMOWCA, and the IMO.
Through the initiative, women would gain access to maritime law education, grant-writing, blue economy entrepreneurship, and IMO Leadership and Empowerment programs.
He announced plans to train 500 women as “Blue Economy Ambassadors” to promote maritime safety, legal awareness, and enterprise development in local languages. Every ABER country chapter would also establish a Women’s Wing liaison office to channel community concerns into continental policy and support women-led projects in mangrove restoration, solar fish drying, boat safety, and fisheries traceability.
The Wing would also generate gender-disaggregated data to strengthen Africa’s negotiating position on fisheries access, ocean governance, and maritime development.
“Women are not just participants in the Blue Economy. They are its foundation,” Kiyaramo stated. “The ocean covers 71 percent of the planet, but women make up more than half of its workforce. The ABER Women’s Wing exists to close that gap and make women co-owners of Africa’s maritime future.”
He added that the initiative will amplify coastal women’s voices and turn local knowledge into actionable policies for sustainable ocean governance across the continent.
