About 60,000 women aged between 18 and 35 are expected to gain jobs or business opportunities through a four-year programme designed to expand Ghana’s tilapia and catfish production.
The Sustainable Aquaculture for Women Advancement (SAWA) programme is being led by Agri-Impact Ltd in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. It aims to generate employment throughout the aquaculture value chain while increasing the supply of fish produced locally.
The initiative was formally launched at a signing ceremony in Accra on November 2, 2026. It brings together public and private sector organisations including Newage Agric Solutions, AgroKings, the Fisheries Commission, TechnoServe, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Centre Enterprise Learning (CEL), Naple Betta, Afrigem Global and Aglow Farms.
Agri-Impact Ltd Chief Executive Officer Dr (h.c) Daniel Fahene Acquaye said private sector participation would be essential to giving those involved access to infrastructure, technical knowledge and markets.
“This programme is centred on the young people. But you cannot support young people without having an anchor private sector that is sitting at the centre,” he said.
Some participants will be helped to establish businesses in different areas of the industry, including the production, aggregation, processing, marketing and distribution of tilapia and catfish, Dr Acquaye added.
Focus on production costs
Newage Agric Solutions, one of the programme’s key partners, plans to help cut fish feed costs by about 20 percent by supporting the local production of ingredients including maize and soya beans.
Roland Quaye, the company’s Managing Partner, said feed typically represented between 60 and 70 per cent of aquaculture production costs. Reducing that expense would therefore be important to the profitability of fish farmers.
“Just by coming on board, you can be rest assured that we are going to reduce the feed cost of all aquaculture farmers by close to about 20 percent,” he said.
The programme has also received support from Abigail Obeng, a SAWA participant and Chief Executive Officer of Aquatic Clean Solutions.
She said the initiative could enable more women to set up businesses and become financially independent. About 90 per cent of her company’s workforce are women, and she hopes SAWA will encourage more unemployed graduates and school dropouts to consider careers in aquaculture.
“Enjoying our own money is sweet. We want young women to also have our own money to enjoy in life,” she said.
SAWA is expected to increase Ghana’s domestic fish production, reduce the country’s dependence on imports and provide sustainable livelihoods, with a particular focus on young women.
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