Uplifting Women Entrepreneurs in Greenwich Town

“I am living my dream and always getting my blessings” says Kathleen Shaw-Gonzales, a cheerful confident, fisherwoman with a passion for entrepreneurship. Her journey of more than 20 years in the fishing industry has been a rewarding one, marked by her early years as a fish vendor on the beach to eventually owing her boat “Kasalenga” and a retail shop selling ice and other goods to the fishing community in Greenwich Town.

The economic empowerment of women improves their ability to participate equally in the marketplace, gives them greater agency over their time, bodies and lives and increase their economic and social status and voice. As one of the 14 fisher-folks benefitting from an entrepreneurial grant under the JSIF’s Integrated Community Development Project - funded by the Government of Jamaica - Kathleen, also known as “Aunty Pansy” now has the equipment and business skills to grow her business and contribute to the development of her community.