The African Union has identified Blue Economy (BE) development as a priority goal towards achieving the aspiration on ‘A prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development within the context of the Africa Union Agenda 2063’. Africa’s Blue Economy can be a major contributor to continental transformation, sustainable economic progress, and social development. Africa’s Blue Economy Strategy, launched under the theme “Developing a sustainable blue economy; increasing momentum for Africa’s Blue Growth”, envisions an inclusive and sustainable blue economy that significantly contributes to the continent’s transformation and growth. The objective of the Africa Blue Economy Strategy is to guide the development of an inclusive and sustainable blue economy that becomes a significant contributor to continental transformation and growth, through advancing knowledge on marine and aquatic biotechnology, environmental sustainability, the growth of Africa-wide shipping industry, the development of sea, river and lake transport, the management of fishing activities on these aquatic spaces, and the exploitation and beneficiation of deep-sea minerals and other resources.

The region has a wealth of knowledge and experiences in different sectors of BE. However, documentation and dissemination of the region’s experiences are limited. Blue Economy is a new concept for Africa where we can learn from other outside the Continent. The planned share fair will help in this regard by strengthening the IGAD Secretariat’s knowledge management unit to ensure it is accessible to all member states and BE stakeholders.

Then the best practices will be disseminated at different platforms. Knowledge management will include products on gender equity and women empowerment. The event will also enhance knowledge dissemination through the regional dialogue platforms

In this regard, the share fair seeks to:

• Share success stories and good practices
• Share ideas for improving work processes, operation, quality, and cost effectiveness, etc.
• Share knowledge with other organisations involved in similar activities
• Improve decision making and performance and help future projects avoid similar difficulties
• Influence policy decisions related to the development and implementation of future Blue Economy projects.

Themes and Topics 

(1) Blue Economy Governance and Institutionalizations;
(2) Biodiversity and Ecosystems;
(3) Blue Economy Sectors,
(4) Blue Economy and Regional Integration,
(5) Blue Economy and Finance and
(6) Climate change.

The outputs of the discussions will be documented in form of a report of lessons and good practices for Blue Economy interventions.

In the medium term, it is expected that the stakeholders will incorporate these lessons into their interventions. Monitoring of their actions will be done by the IGAD Secretariat in collaboration with the AU-IBAR.

The share fair outputs will be disseminated through IGAD and AU-IBAR Platforms.

The knowledge exchange and dissemination of lessons learned and good practices is expected to result into:

• Increased information among stakeholders to inform and influence the development of future blue economy activities
• Outputs that could inform the development of future collaborative projects
• Dialogue with policy makers to influence decisions at different levels.