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Along the shores of East Africa's Lake Victoria, in Kenya, women fisherfolk including those known for being victims of sexual exploitation, are harnessing the Internet of Things (IoT) to help them counter their abusers while enhancing their incomes, writes Joseph Davis Weddi.

Fish trader and farmer Milly told SciDev.Net how she used to offer her body to fishermen to obtain fish stocks at an affordable price to take to the market to sell, but she now breeds the tilapia herself and, thanks to digital technologies, she can bypass processes that expose her to bargaining with unscrupulous fishermen. (Note: SciDev.Net has changed the names of selected women to protect their identities.)

Along with other women who once traded their bodies to obtain fish, Milly co-owns floating cages in a digitally monitored fish farm on Lake Victoria.

Using their smart phones, the women can access information and receive notifications about the health of the fish they are rearing in the cages—and at the same time gain financial independence.

Not only are they countering the sexual exploitation, but they are working towards eradicating poverty in their homes—and improving food security—by taking direct ownership of the fish production process.

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