SAWA Program
Empowering women, transforming aquaculture — creating 60,000 dignified and fulfilling jobs for young women across Ghana in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.
A Women-Centred Revolution in Aquaculture
The Sustainable Aquaculture for Women Advancement (SAWA) Program is a four-year national initiative of the Mastercard Foundation in partnership with Agri-Impact Ltd, spanning 2026 to 2030. It is designed to address systemic constraints while unlocking inclusive economic opportunities within Ghana's aquaculture sector.
SAWA seeks to create 60,000 dignified and fulfilling jobs for young women aged 18–35 years, including 3,000 young women with disabilities, across the tilapia and catfish value chains. By expanding access to skills, productive resources, enterprise opportunities, and markets, the programme strengthens women's participation and leadership in Ghana's growing blue economy.
Beyond immediate employment outcomes, SAWA repositions aquaculture as a driver of inclusive economic growth — empowering young women as entrepreneurs, leaders, and value chain actors in a sector traditionally dominated by men.
The Development Imperative
Youth unemployment and gender exclusion demand bold structural solutions. Aquaculture is Ghana's high-potential answer.
Four Strategic Pillars
Grounded in extensive field research, stakeholder engagement, and persona-driven analysis — every intervention is context-specific and market-responsive.
Inclusive Capacity Building & Empowerment
Gender-transformative training combining technical, business, and digital skills with mindset change initiatives, male-ally engagement, and embedded safeguarding. Modular curricula adapted to diverse participant profiles for equitable access and progression.
Production Expansion & Productivity Enhancement
Structured production hubs and community clusters connect women to inputs, financing, technical services, and markets — boosting efficiency, bargaining power, and profitability at every level of the value chain.
Market Access & Trade Development
Digital marketplaces, satellite fish markets, and women-led networks connect producers directly to aggregators and institutional buyers — improving price transparency, reducing intermediary dependency, and opening export opportunities.
Financial Inclusion & Enterprise Growth
A tiered financing approach combines starter kits and microgrants for entry-level participants with business development services and linkages to external financing platforms — enabling sustainable, scalable businesses without dependence on a single funding mechanism.
Five Personas, One Mission
SAWA takes a persona-driven approach, tailoring support to the realities and ambitions of five key groups of young women across Ghana.
The Aspiring Young Entrepreneur
Motivated and driven, but lacking capital or access to infrastructure to start her enterprise.
The Resilient Single Mother
Needs flexible, income-generating work that accommodates childcare and household responsibilities.
The Married Woman with Care Burdens
Constrained by household dynamics and social norms but determined to build economic independence.
The Rural Independent Woman
Located in remote or peri-urban areas with limited market access, inputs, and support networks.
The Person with Disability
Faces compounded barriers of discrimination, stigma, and systemic exclusion from economic opportunity.
Implementation Models
A private sector-led approach that leverages public and private resources to convert structural constraints into inclusive growth opportunities.
Enclave-Based / Production Hub Model
Private sector-led production hubs bring together infrastructure, inputs, technical services, financing, and market linkages to support young women in starting and growing aquaculture enterprises.
Community-Level Aggregator Model
Young women aquapreneurs organised into community and zonal clusters — connecting them to markets, inputs, services, finance, and capacity building while improving efficiency, bargaining power, and profitability.
Private Sector-Led Investment Model
Anchor private sector partners invest in land, production infrastructure, hatcheries, ponds, processing, storage, cold-chain, and logistics to expand opportunities and strengthen domestic and export markets.
Public Sector Leveraging Model
SAWA leverages public sector investments, expertise, infrastructure, and regulatory support to strengthen access to land, broodstock, fingerlings, technology, and improved production and processing solutions.
Ecosystem Enablers Model
Specialised service providers support entrepreneurship, business development, access to finance, data systems, and market information — while establishing an Aquaculture Women Network for collaboration, learning, and advocacy.
Synergies with the HAPPY Program
SAWA builds on tools, systems, partnerships, and value chains from the HAPPY Program. Fish feed processors connect with HAPPY's soyabean, maize, and rice actors — creating cross-value-chain linkages that reduce input costs and waste.
Pathways to Dignified Employment
Five progressive stages — from community entry to enterprise leadership — ensuring SAWA is a sustained pathway, not a one-time intervention.
Awareness & Mobilisation
Community outreach, stakeholder engagement, and targeted recruitment of young women, PWDs, and displaced youth.
Onboarding & Needs Assessment
Individual profiling to tailor support, match participants to appropriate program tracks, and baseline aspirations and constraints.
Modular Skills Training
Technical, business, digital, and life skills delivered across flexible formats responsive to care responsibilities and mobility constraints.
Employment & Entrepreneurship Transition
Placement into productive work supported by finance, market access, and mentorship to consolidate early-stage activity.
Enterprise Scaling & Formalisation
Continued support for SME growth, operational formalisation, and creation of downstream employment opportunities within the ecosystem.
A Framework That Protects and Empowers
Safeguarding is embedded throughout the program design, grounded in Gender Transformative Approaches (GALS and EMAP) that shift social norms while protecting participants from harm.
Grievance & Reporting Channel
A dedicated channel independently managed by the Centre for Enterprise Learning, with case escalation protocols and a named Program Safeguarding Lead accountable for resolution timelines.
Safe Spaces in Production Hubs
Safe spaces within each production hub, equipped with trained female facilitators who deliver personal development, health, and psychosocial support sessions throughout the participant journey.
Inclusive Infrastructure
Inclusive infrastructure standards and assistive technologies across all program facilities, ensuring full physical and programmatic accessibility for the 3,000 PWD participants.
Program Partners
Join the SAWA Movement
Partners, funders, and young women — there is a role for you in transforming Ghana's aquaculture sector.