Fair for All: Inclusive and Sustainable Gender-Transformative Value Chains is a multi-year research programme undertaken in partnership with Oxfam South Africa that examines barriers to entry and growth, and their implications for the participation of women-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in selected agricultural and agro-processing value chains in South Africa, including vegetables, poultry, wine, and citrus. Through extensive fieldwork and engagement with women producers and entrepreneurs, the project has generated important insights into the competition dynamics, structural constraints, and opportunities shaping inclusive participation in value chains.

The research focuses on key challenges such as access to finance, infrastructure, markets, industry support networks, and the role of large lead firms and buyers in influencing outcomes for women-owned businesses. Building on conceptual and empirical research on barriers to entry and women’s economic empowerment, the project adopts a gender-transformative lens to identify targeted strategies and policy interventions that can unlock market opportunities and promote more inclusive and equitable value chains. The programme has also contributed to policy engagement and capacity building through the production of working papers, policy briefs, opinion pieces, webinars, and short learning programmes.

Fair for All working papers