A move to Uganda sparked a journey into the food industry for Inez van Oord. She reflects on the challenges and successes of creating economic opportunities for Ugandan women through the jackfruit industry, the impact of sustainable sourcing, and how women are shaping the future of agriculture.
“In 2015, I sold my talent development and recruitment company, and my husband, three children, and I moved to Uganda, looking for adventure. When we got there, people urged me to meet Ineke Aquarius, another entrepreneur who was passionate about economic opportunities for women. Together, we realised that employing women in Uganda was the best way to make sure more money flows to children’s education and nutrition, and we eventually founded Fiber Foods together.
“We quickly saw that major cash crops like cocoa, coffee, and vanilla were controlled by men. But we also noticed an abundance of jackfruit trees, with fruit often going to waste. In the 1950s, a king distributed jackfruit seedlings to every farmer, so nearly every family had a few trees. And as we saw the abundance of jackfruit trees, we also noticed that jackfruit was gaining popularity internationally as a meat alternative.
“That’s how we started Fiber Foods, with the aim of creating an income stream for young female farmers who could harvest and dry jackfruit. Initially, they weren’t familiar with young jackfruit as a product, so we taught them when and how to harvest it. Eventually, they saw its potential value as an income source.”
“Yes, but we handle this with sensitivity. Ineke’s background in behaviour change communication, alongside our skilled team of Ugandan colleagues, has been crucial. Our Ugandan team leads training sessions, helping male farmers see how their families can benefit from women’s involvement.
“Some wealthy men wanted to plant jackfruit in a monoculture system, but we’re committed to promoting an agroforestry model that supports biodiversity, and sustainability is at the heart of what we do. Jackfruit trees provide shade for other crops and supports biodiversity, and its climate impact is also lower than the products that it provides an alternative to.”
“Initially, farmers didn’t understand why we wanted young jackfruit rather than mature fruit, which is the way it is traditionally harvested and consumed. We worked with Wageningen University to research the sustainability of harvesting practices and to ensure we weren’t disrupting local food supplies. But thankfully, similar to the way breastfeeding increases milk production, picking young jackfruit results in more and bigger jackfruits growing back on the same tree.”
“We aim to build a resilient sourcing network across East Africa, with current plans for Tanzania. Uganda has abundant jackfruit, but other regions provide diversity that helps us manage risks. “Our long-term vision is to establish a scalable model for sustainable sourcing and processing of jackfruit, potentially expanding to other regions. Jackfruit grows all along the equator, so we could do the same thing from South America to Sri Lanka to Thailand.
“Locally and in the wider East African region, we’re also focused on promoting jackfruit’s use as a meat alternative. Our jackfruit is already in sausages sold across East Africa through Carrefour. We believe jackfruit’s nutritional benefits could replace several imported ingredients into African markets.”
“Agriculture in Uganda is still male dominated, but the addition of jackfruit has created new income opportunities for women, particularly in processing. The crop offers a year-round income stream that complements seasonal crops like vanilla, cocoa, and coffee.
“Beyond jackfruit, we are seeing a rise in interest from young women in agribusiness. Ineke and I are also involved in the Circular Design Hub, an incubator space hosting around 40 companies, many of which are led by women. This ecosystem fosters women’s leadership and provides a platform for aspiring female entrepreneurs.
“There are absolutely disadvantages, but there are plenty of advantages too. I’m a positive person, so I like to focus on the good. Throughout my career as an entrepreneur, I’ve often found that when I’m talking with men alongside my sales manager, they’ll assume he’s the boss, not me. In Uganda, men would often see me as an employee, not the founder or owner.
“Yes, it’s a bit sad that some still think the man must be the director, but it’s not a big deal for me. I think that’s kind of funny, and I try to make use of that assumption. Men are often a bit taken by having women in these roles, which I use to my advantage.
“Of course, there’s a downside. In Europe, the meat market is definitely male-dominated. There are a lot of meat companies now that need to reduce meat sales and transition to plant-based ingredients, and it’s not always easy to build partnerships in that male-led industry.
“On the plus side, there are plenty of programmes and investors who support women. There are funds specifically for women-led ventures, which can be very helpful, and we work with some of those.
And most of all, working in Uganda with very strong Ugandan women has really made a big difference for us. We have all these female farmers and factory workers, but we also have a very strong leadership team of Ugandan women that were waiting for a different way of leadership. And I think that Ineke and I were able to provide that, maybe because we're also women. It has led to a very successful team that sticks with us for a long time. Investing in these women is the biggest part of our success. They are doing the business in Uganda, not Ineke and me.”
