ABOUT THE EMPOWER PROJECT
Ghana’s small-scale fisheries (SSF) sector employs over 1.2 million women in postharvest activities in roles such as fish mummies, processors, traders, helpers and porters/carriers.
Yet nearly 750,000 of these women, especially helpers and carriers have limited access to fishery assets or social capital. Their livelihoods are marked by low and unstable incomes, unsafe working conditions, increased vulnerability, to climate change and limited opportunities to partake in decision-making processes concerning their livelihoods and sustainability of the fisheries sector.
The Empower Project has been developed to transform Ghana’s fisheries post-harvest sector into one that is inclusive, equitable, and climate resilient. With CERATH Development Organization (CDO)’s leadership and the Fisheries Commission (FC), this initiative seeks to align people-level outcomes (income, safety, agency, and climate resilience) with system-level reforms in program design, governance, and resource allocation.
Over a seven-year period, the Empower Project will:
- Ensure incomes are increased above the national daily minimum wage for assetless women including helpers and carriers
- Promote safer working conditions through adoption of improved fish processing technologies
- Equip assetless women including helpers and carriers with alternative sources of income
- Enhance the voice, leadership, and decision-making power of women operators in fisheries governance structures
The Empower Project is guided by a robust Learning, Measurement & Evaluation (LME) framework to ensure transparency, adaptive management, and real-time feedback from women across the sector. Through strategic partnerships, inclusive programming, and sustained advocacy, the project aims to unlock economic advancement and agency for the most marginalized women in Ghana’s fisheries sector.
