Beyond the fish market: Business skills open new pathways for women in Guyana’s fisheries

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (ILO News) — For many women in Guyana’s fisheries sector, the work begins after the catch comes ashore – cleaning, processing, vending, packaging and selling fish. Making the transition from this kind of work into business ownership, leadership or formal finance remains much harder. Women’s participation is concentrated in processing and retail, while harvesting and ownership remain largely male-dominated. These were the findings of recent research undertaken within the project Support to the cooperative movement in the artisanal fisheries subsector in the Co-operative Republic of Guyana to promote decent work and food security, a collaborative intervention of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The project is part of a wider FISH4ACP programme being implemented by the FAO with funding from the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The collaboration began in December 2024 and was publicly launched in Georgetown in March 2025, building on FISH4ACP’s work with Guyana’s seabob value chain. The ILO's contribution focused on strengthening cooperative and business management, connections among fisherfolk, government and other partners, and the improving the capacity of public institutions to support better working conditions and cooperative development, with particular attention to women.

The latest research drew on desk review, interviews and focus groups in key locations around Guyana- Meadow Bank, Rose Hall and Anna Regina. Women identified constraints ranging from limited finance and weak record keeping to inadequate infrastructure, market access, safety concerns, care responsibilities and limited opportunities to influence decisions affecting the sector. The research also showed how limited registration and financial records can make access to formal financing more difficult.

The GET Ahead entrepreneurship training carried out from 17-20 August in Georgetown and 25-28 August in Berbice and Essequibo (simultaneously), was designed to respond to several of these gaps. Across the three cohorts, aspiring women entrepreneurs worked on business planning, marketing and sales, financial management and record keeping, leadership and time management, risk management and networking. The ILO’s methodology ensured they received practical, implementable knowledge and tools.

The research also made clear that business training alone cannot address all the barriers women face. Whether women can start, formalize and grow businesses also depend on extension services, local institutions, finance providers, markets and community organizations- the business support ecosystem.

That finding informed the gender-sensitive training of trainers, Reaching women fishers and processors, held in Georgetown from 31 August to 4 September 2026 for Cooperative Officers from the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning, and Fisheries Officers from the Ministry of Agriculture. The five-day programme helped officials examine gender and equity, bias, outreach practices and practical ways to reach and support women fishers, processors and vendors more effectively.

Extension officers from the regions of Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region 2), Demerara-Mahaica (Region 4) and East Berbice-Corentyne (Region 6) also developed region-specific projects aimed at benefiting women in fisheries, providing a practical way to apply the training through their day-to-day work.

“The research shows that strengthening women’s business skills matters for the overall development of the value chain, but it also shows that skills alone cannot remove every barrier,” said John Bliek, ILO Sustainable Enterprise Specialist. “Progress will depend on women having stronger businesses and on the services, institutions and market relationships around them becoming more responsive to the realities they face.”

Consistent with its commitment to gender equality and decent work, the ILO’s technical support through FISH4ACP is helping national partners address these priorities and create a more enabling environment for women across the fisheries value chain.