This report, published in June of this year, shares insights from a market scoping study for the digitization of the fish value chain in Uganda. The study was intended to explore opportunities where digitization - especially digital financial services (DFS) - can add value and positively impact the lives and productivity of actors in the fish value chain.

The study was commissioned by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and it focused on: conducting a value chain analysis in order to understand the key actors involved and their roles; economic impact of the different activities in the value chain; an analysis of the state of financial services / digital financial services in the value chain. Similarly, the study also centered on carrying out a gap analysis to assess the unmet needs associated with access to financial services, coping mechanisms and how DFS can provide solutions.

Using a value chain approach, the study scrutinized all the key nodes of the value chain, from input supply, production, local processing, transportation, factory processing, and marketing stages. The objective was to understand the different interactions as they happen in the life of the sherfolk. This information helped to uncover the challenges, important use case and opportunities for digitization at each node of the value chain. Consequently, a total of 125 stakeholders including shers, boat owners, shmongers, sh processors were interviewed.

Equally, other key actors from the supply side including financial services providers, technology companies, traders and other macro actors like the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries and the donor community were interviewed. These engagements with demand and supply-side actors produced several unique insights unique insights.

The most prominent insights are;

The sheries sector contribution to Uganda’s economy; The sheries value chain is largely unstructured; Savings groups are in influential agents of change especially among immobile members of the shing communities; Accessing traditional banking services is still low, only prevalent among boat owners and traders; and, vast knowledge of mobile money exists among sherfolk but there are few advanced use cases.

The report concludes with a set of strategic actionable recommendations, relatively easy to implement (“quick wins”) that stakeholders can pursue.

Read Full Publication HERE.