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Africa Blue Economy Acceleration Programme for Youth and Women
Introduction
This survey is part of a broader mapping exercise to understand the current blue economy ecosystem in Africa, with a focus on opportunities and challenges for youth and women-led enterprises.
The questions below are based entirely on your experience and perspective. There are no right or wrong answers. Your responses will be used only in aggregate to inform ecosystem analysis and programme design.
Any personal or organisational information collected will be used for internal research purposes only and will not be shared publicly or attributed to individual respondents without prior consent
Section 1: Respondent Information
1. Name of organisation or Individual
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2. Email address
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WhatsApp contact number
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3. Type of stakeholder (select one):
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3. Type of stakeholder (select one):
A
Entrepreneur / MSME
B
Entrepreneurial Support Organisation
C
Investor / Funder
D
Government / Public Agency
E
Research / Academic Institution
F
Corporate / Industry
G
Civil Society / NGO
4. Primary blue economy sector(s) you work in (select all that apply)
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4. Primary blue economy sector(s) you work in (select all that apply)
a. Fisheries and Aquaculture.
b. Ports, Shipping, and Maritime Logistics.
c. Coastal and Marine Tourism.
d. Ocean Data and Robotics.
e. Marine Biotechnologies.
f. Marine Renewable Energy and its associated supporting services.
g. Blue Carbon and Nature-Based Solutions.
h. Waste Management and Circularity.
i. Biodiversity Conservation and Environmental Management.
j. Water Resources Management.
k. Defense and related maritime security activities.
5. Country / region of operation
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Section 2: Blue Economy Value Chains
6. Which blue economy sectors are you most familiar with or active in? (eg. Maritime, Ports, tourism, etc.)
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7. From your experience, which two to three value chains currently show the strongest potential for: enterprise growth, job creation and youth and women participation?
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8. What factors make these value chains promising in practice? (e.g. market demand, available resources, skills, infrastructure, policy support)
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9. Do these value chains primarily serve: domestic markets, regional and cross border markets or both?
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10. Where regional or cross board opportunities exist, what are the main constraints to accessing those markets? (e.g. standards, certifications, logistics, trade regulations, finance)
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Section 3: Ecosystem Actors and Support
11. What types of organisations currently support blue economy enterprises in your context?
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12. Are there specific organisations or initiatives that play a particularly important role? Please name them.
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13. Where do you see gaps or weaknesses in the current support ecosystem?
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14. From your perspective, are private sector buyers or off-takers actively engaging with local enterprises? Yes/ No/ Limited engagement
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15. If engagement is limited, what are the main reasons (e,g quality standards, scale, reliability, compliance, information gaps)
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Section 4: Barriers and Constraints
16. What are the top 3 main challenges faced by blue economy ventures today? Name and explain briefly.
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17. Are there challenges that disproportionately affect youth-led enterprises? Please explain.
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18. Are there challenges that disproportionately affect women-led enterprises? Please explain.
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Section 5: Venture Readiness and Needs
If you do not work directly with enterprises please answer based on your observations of the ecosystem
19. At what stage are most ventures you interact with?
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19. At what stage are most ventures you interact with?
A
Idea / concept
B
Early operations
C
Growing / scaling
20. What is the typical level of formalisation of these ventures (Select all that apply)
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20. What is the typical level of formalisation of these ventures (Select all that apply)
Informal/not legally registered
In the process of registration
Formally registered
Revenue generating but not fully compliant
Fully formalised (registered, compliant and operational)
21. What types of support would be most useful for these ventures over the next 6–12 months?
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Section 6: Opportunities and Future Outlook
22. Where do you see the strongest opportunities for new or growing blue economy ventures over the 2-5 years?
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23. Are there emerging trends, technologies, or shifts that ecosystem actors should pay attention to?
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24. Do you see realistic opportunities for youth and women-led enterprises to participate in regional or continental value chains? Yes/ Not at this stage/ Possibly
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25. What needs to change for this to become feasible
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Section 7: Final Reflections
26. Are there additional stakeholders or initiatives we should engage as part of this mapping?
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27. Any other insights you feel are important to share?
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28. Would you be willing to participate in a follow-up validation workshop related to this mapping that will be in person in Durban, 24 March 2026?
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29. If yes or possibly, please indicate how we may contact you regarding this workshop and related follow-up activities. (Select all that apply)
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By selecting a contact option, you consent to being contacted by the programme team for purposes related to this mapping and the Durban validation workshop.
29. If yes or possibly, please indicate how we may contact you regarding this workshop and related follow-up activities. (Select all that apply)
Email
Phone / WhatsApp
LinkedIn
Through my organisation
Prefer not to be contacted
Submit
