Institutions and their impacts on gender and economic activities: A case of
fisheries value chain in Nairobi, City County-Kenya

Paul Kizito

doi:10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i06.014

Title: Institutions and their impacts on gender and economic activities: A case of fisheries value chain in Nairobi, City County-Kenya
Authors: Paul Kizito
Journal: International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research (IJSSER) ISSN: 2455-8834 Volume: 11 Issue: 6 Publication Date: June 2026 DOI: 10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i06.014
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Paul Kizito An independent researcher & academic (Gender, Health, Entrepreneurship & Development)
MLA 8 Kizito, Paul. "Institutions and their impacts on gender and economic activities: A case of fisheries value chain in Nairobi, City County-Kenya." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 11, no. 6, June 2026, pp. 2669-2685, doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i06.014. Accessed June 2026. APA 6 Kizito, P. (2026, June). Institutions and their impacts on gender and economic activities: A case of fisheries value chain in Nairobi, City County-Kenya. Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(6), 2669-2685. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i06.014 Chicago Kizito, Paul. "Institutions and their impacts on gender and economic activities: A case of fisheries value chain in Nairobi, City County-Kenya." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research 11, no. 6 (June 2026), 2669-2685. Accessed June, 2026. https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i06.014.
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ABSTRACT: Kenya has put in place institutions to promote men and women’s participation in entrepreneurship to reduce gender disparities. These institutions include laws and regulations pertaining to economic activities, credit facilitation and regulations, and provision of strategic training for entrepreneurs by the government of Kenya and stakeholders. It is in this respect that this study sought to establish the impacts of institutions in the entrepreneurial performance of men and women in the fishery value chain. The study focused specifically on Nairobi City County and was guided by objective, to determine the institutional impacts on participation of men and women in entrepreneurs in fishery value chains. The social structural theory developed by Connell (1987) based on the patriarchal system and social mechanisms in place to reinforce and sustain the ideology guided this study. The theory provides a substantive justification of women’s subordination in the fisheries value chain. The descriptive survey design was considered suitable for this study given its ability to examine information on the experiences of men and women in the fishery value chain. The study further benefited from Chefetz (1990) theory of gender equity. The theory is based on the assumption that there are two types of forces, coercive and voluntaristic, which sustain a system of gender inequality. The two forces coercive and voluntaristic are acts of individuals; hence, define the trajectory of men and women in entrepreneurship and development. The study focused on three zones and purposefully selected market areas based on the socio-economic characteristics, namely; affluent class, middle class and lower class; where the respectively sampled markets were City, South C-Mugoya and Kariobangi markets. The study showed that the institutions, which affected participation of men and women in fisheries value chain, included financial institutions, county governance institutions and market areas institutions. In this regard, collateral requirement, interest rate, variety of products on offer within financial institutions influenced the demand for credit facilities. The certification and licensing procedures as county institutional factors influenced the formality of operations; while security policies and tax collection requirements influenced the operations of men and women within market areas.

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