About INCLUSA

Why inclusion matters

Women selling their goods in the market

Agriculture sustains millions of livelihoods and lies at the heart of rural economies. Women make up nearly half of the agricultural workforce: growing food, managing farms, running enterprises, and supporting households. Yet despite their essential role, women continue to face barriers that limit their access to land, finance, training, and markets.

Too often, agricultural services and business models are designed with a gender-blind lens. Information reaches men more easily; training schedules clash with women’s responsibilities; credit, digital tools, and technologies remain out of reach. The result: women’s agricultural productivity is, on average, 24% lower than men’s, and they earn only 82 cents for every dollar men earn.

These inequalities aren’t just unfair, they are inefficient. FAO estimates that closing the gender gap in agrifood systems could add $1 trillion to global GDP, while improving food security and resilience. Gender equality and women’s empowerment are not only moral imperatives; they are also smart economics.

At INCLUSA, we believe inclusion should be part of how agriculture works – not an afterthought. When women and men have equal opportunities to participate and benefit, value chains grow stronger, productivity rises, and communities thrive.

How we work

Our approach is evidence-based, participatory, and transformative. We focus on turning insight into action, helping organisations make inclusion part of how they deliver, decide, and measure success.

1. Evidence-based

We start with data and analysis to understand where gender gaps exist. Both within organisations and across the services they provide. We then design indicators that track what inclusion achieves: for women and men, for households, and for business performance.

2. Participatory

Real change happens when people are part of it. We co-create solutions with clients, engaging women and men, staff and communities in identifying barriers and testing improvements. Our focus is on building skills and confidence so that inclusive practices take root and grow beyond our direct support.

3. Transformative

Our work aims for more than participation, it targets transformation. We help organisations address the attitudes, norms, and institutional barriers that hold women and men back, and embed inclusion into their systems, policies, and culture. The goal: lasting change towards equality.

Our value

At INCLUSA, we combine development insights with business sense to make inclusion meaningful, measurable and sustainable.

  • Dual focus – bridging social impact and organisational performance.

  • Proven expertise – over a decade of hands-on experience in value chain development in East & Southern Africa.

  • Practical approach – grounded in field realities, using tested tools that help organisations act and adapt.

Our clients have seen real results: more women in leadership roles, more inclusive service delivery, improved productivity, and shifting social norms toward equality.

Because inclusion isn’t a box to tick, it’s a catalyst for stronger systems, fairer opportunities, and a more resilient agricultural future.

Awareness training in Eswatini for International Trade Centre

Message from the founder

“I founded INCLUSA because I believe that lasting progress in agriculture starts with inclusion.

For too long, women’s roles and contributions have been overlooked, even though they are central to how food systems function and families thrive. After more than a decade working in agricultural value chains across Eastern and Southern Africa, I’ve seen how many well-intentioned programmes, investments and services still fail to reach, benefit and empower women. Yet when organisations take inclusion seriously, the results are transformative: for women, families, and businesses alike.

At INCLUSA, my goal is to help organisations recognise this potential and turn inclusion into a strategy for impact and sustainable growth: By combining evidence, practical tools, and close collaboration, we work side by side with teams to translate good intentions into measurable impact for women, for communities, and for the agricultural systems we all depend on.”

Emma Feenstra, Founder INCLUSA
Wateringen, The Netherlands