Elienne Drebli Zogo, 44, is a seafood processor and vendor in the coastal community of Attécobé which houses the Locodjro landing stage near the Côte d’Ivoire economic capital of Abidjan.

She started working in this profession at the age of 25 in order to support her husband, who was a student at the time, and their children.

Now this married mother of four supports a total of 20 members of her immediate and extended family with her activity.

Elienne grew up in the city of Vavoua, in west central Côte d’Ivoire, and left school early due to lack of funds.

She moved in with an aunt in Abidjan, where she noticed that one their neighbors, a woman, made a good living by buying fresh fish, smoking it and selling it.

She decided to try her hand at this profession, and it turned out she is a savvy businesswoman and very good at her job.

”By saving a little on each sale, I bought a refrigerator to preserve fresh fish,” Elienne recounts.

”In time I also became the owner of a boat,” she adds. ”In the high season, I can save 50 000 CFA francs (approximately USD 80) a week.”

Elienne loves her job, but it is an arduous one that requires long working hours.

”You have to get to the dock really early to buy fresh fish from the fishermen as soon as they come in,” comments Elienne, who serves as president of the Côte d’Ivoire Fishmongers and Seafood Processors Cooperative (COMATPHCI), which has 131 members, of whom 107 are women.

As beneficiaries of the Coastal Fisheries Initiative in West Africa (CFI-WA), Elienne and her colleagues were trained on workplace hygiene to make their products safe, attractive to consumers and up to norm for access to profitable markets.

Elienne says her cooperative wants to expand into aquaculture, and also to develop a business making home deliveries to their clients.

”I dream of practicing aquaculture to make up for lack of fresh fish on the market,” she says.

“During the exchange visits with other women in artisanal fisheries organized by CFI-WA, I learned that this is something women can do.”

About CFI-WA

CFI-WA covers Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal. The Initiative works with stakeholders and authorities to strengthen fisheries governance and management and improve the seafood value chain and working conditions, with a focus on empowering women. It is implemented by FAO in partnership with UNEP/Abidjan Convention and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).