Picture; Chahbani Jawhara
Tunis, Tunisia – The Africa Blue Economy Roundtable, ABER, is proud to announce the appointment of Ms. Chahbani Jawhara as Regional Facilitator of ABER for North Africa, with immediate effect.
Ms. Jawhara brings a unique blend of government leadership and grassroots advocacy to the role. She serves as Head of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department for the Sfax Region at the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, Republic of Tunisia. She is also President of ATFPA – Association Tunisienne des Femmes Actives dans la Pêche et l’Aquaculture, the Tunisian Chapter of the African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network, AWFISHNET.
With more than 7,000 km of shared Mediterranean and Atlantic coastline, North Africa’s Blue Economy is critical for food security, livelihoods, and climate resilience. Through this appointment, ABER is deepening its commitment to gender-inclusive and community-driven blue growth across the region.
Dr. Piriye Kiriayamo
In her capacity as Regional Facilitator, Ms. Jawhara is expected to provide strategic leadership for ABER activities across Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Egypt, support National Coordinators to establish ABER Blue Clubs and advance policy engagement at country level, while strengthening partnerships with Ministries, Regional Economic Communities, and development partners to align with the AU 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy.
She is to scale women-led enterprises by leveraging ATFPA and AWFISHNET networks to improve capacity, market access, and post-harvest systems, promote best practices from North Africa in coastal community development and gender-inclusive blue growth for replication across the continent, mobilize regional funding and technical partnerships for ABER programs and member enterprises and represent ABER at regional and international forums
Her tenure is for an initial period of 2 years, renewable based on performance.
Dr. Piriye Kiyaramo, Convener/CEO of ABER, stated:
“Ms. Jawhara’s leadership in both public service and civil society makes her the ideal champion for ABER in North Africa. Her deep experience with coastal women and policy systems will ensure that North Africa leads in building a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable Blue Economy.”
ABER is a non-profit, volunteer-driven continental platform working to harness Africa’s Blue Wealth for prosperity through advocacy, enterprise development, and policy action.
