The beneficiaries are from the University of Rwanda, RP Tumba College, INES Ruhengeri and UTAB. They participated in the Growing Rwanda Energy Awareness Through Higher education (GREATER) project, a three-year initiative aimed at promoting the use of renewable energy through education.
The project brought together the four Rwandan institutions and four European higher learning institutions. It facilitated exchanges between lecturers and students, with a particular focus on enabling Rwandan academics and students to learn from European universities with advanced experience in renewable energy.
More than Rwf 1.3 billion was invested in the project, funding activities including renewable energy projects implemented by each participating university in local communities, curriculum development, and exchanges involving lecturers and students.
The initiative supports Rwanda’s target of having renewable energy account for 50% of the country’s electricity by 2050. As part of this broader effort, a study is expected to be completed by the end of 2026 to identify a suitable site for a solar power plant with a planned generation capacity of 200 megawatts.
Speaking during the closing of the GREATER project in Kigali on September 3, 2026, Hategekimana Jean Bosco, a renewable energy lecturer at RP Tumba College, said the knowledge he gained at Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg in Germany had significantly strengthened his practical skills.
“Together with lecturers from Germany, we learned how to build solar panels from scratch. I can now make one from nothing, complete it and have it generate the electricity I need. We also learned another technology that allows us to monitor how much energy a solar panel is generating in real time without having to physically go to where it is installed,” he said.
Hategekimana said the skills would not only enable him to train students but could also contribute to Rwanda’s efforts to reduce energy costs.
He noted that the institution where he teaches spends about Rwf 4 million a month on electricity, while a renewable energy system could potentially reduce the monthly cost to below Rwf 1 million, depending on the system and its performance.
As part of the project, RP Tumba College also developed an initiative to install solar power systems for residents of Muyanza Model Village in Rulindo District who had struggled to access electricity due to limited financial resources.
The institution plans to extend similar initiatives to other communities to promote the use of renewable energy, which can offer a more affordable alternative to conventional electricity sources.
Eng. Gatabazi Pascal, Chief Technical Adviser at the Ministry of Education, said the government is increasingly focused on the quality of graduates rather than simply increasing the number of people completing university and higher education programmes.
“In the past, we focused on the number of university graduates and wanted that number to increase, but now we need to move from numbers to competence. We want a student who graduates from university to have the skills to work and contribute to the country’s development. This means focusing on programmes that respond to labour market needs, trained lecturers and the necessary equipment,” he said.
the European Coordinator of Growing Rwanda Energy Awareness Through Higher education (GREATER) project
The European Coordinator of GREATER project Prof. Paolo Ciampolini, a lecturer at the University of Parma in Italy, said Rwanda already has a foundation for teaching renewable energy, but the project sought to strengthen the practical component.
He said this would enable students and lecturers to develop and manufacture renewable energy equipment locally, reducing reliance on imports which is more expensive and can become a barrier to its wider adoption.
Twenty lecturers and six students from four Rwandan higher learning institutions have returned from Europe after receiving training in renewable energy under the GREATER project.Prof. Paolo Ciampolini, coordinator of the GREATER project, said the initiative focused on strengthening practical renewable energy skills and reducing reliance on imported equipment.Eng. Gatabazi Pascal, Senior Technical Adviser at the Ministry of Education, said Rwanda is shifting its focus from the number of university graduates to the quality and skills they possess.
In experiments involving mice, the treatment helped damaged brain tissue develop new blood vessels, supported the growth of nerve fibres and improved movement.
The researchers say the approach works partly by creating an environment that encourages the body’s own immune cells to participate in the healing process.
Ischemic strokes occur when a blood clot blocks blood flow to part of the brain.
Emergency treatments can restore circulation and protect brain tissue that has not yet died. However, once brain tissue is permanently damaged, restoring blood flow cannot bring the lost tissue back.
Severe strokes can therefore leave a cavity where healthy brain tissue once existed.
Rehabilitation can help the brain’s surviving circuits adapt, but it does not directly rebuild the damaged area.
To address this problem, Duke researchers developed a material known as a microporous annealed particle scaffold, or MAPS.
It is made from tiny hydrogel particles that form a porous structure, creating space where cells can enter and potentially support tissue repair.
The researchers combined the scaffold with extracellular vesicles produced by astrocytes, star-shaped cells found in the brain.
Extracellular vesicles are tiny packages released by cells that carry biological signals, including proteins, lipids and genetic material, which can influence other cells.
Rather than injecting these vesicles alone, the researchers attached them to the surface of the hydrogel particles.
This helped keep the signals concentrated in the damaged area, allowing incoming cells to interact with them.
The scientists found that a combination of two signalling molecules, IL-4 and C1q, was particularly effective at attracting immune cells to the damaged region.
Among the cells recruited were macrophages and neutrophils.
Neutrophils are commonly associated with inflammation and tissue damage during the early stages of stroke, but the study suggests they may have a different role later in recovery when exposed to the appropriate signals and environment.
When researchers reduced the population of neutrophils, the formation of new blood vessels decreased and the scaffold underwent less remodeling.
This suggested that the cells were contributing to the repair process.
The treatment also produced physical improvements in the mice. Researchers observed more axonal fibres in and around the damaged area.
Axons are structures that allow nerve cells to communicate with one another.
The treated mice also performed better on a grid-walking test that measures movement and coordination.
After eight weeks, their performance was statistically similar to that of healthy control mice, and the improvement continued for the rest of the study.
The researchers also tested the extracellular vesicles without the biomaterial scaffold.
The vesicles alone did not produce the same level of blood vessel repair, suggesting that the scaffold itself plays an important role by keeping the biological signals concentrated within the injured area.
Despite the promising results, the treatment is still at an early, preclinical stage.
The experiments so far have been conducted in mice, with the material injected directly into the damaged part of the brain.
More research is needed to determine the treatment’s safety, understand how different immune cells contribute to recovery and establish whether the approach can work in larger animals and eventually humans.
The research team is also exploring the use of extracellular vesicles produced by human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived astrocytes, which could provide a more scalable and clinically relevant source of the therapeutic material.
Duke researchers developed an injectable biomaterial that helped damaged brains regrow blood vessels and improve movement in mice.
The development was confirmed by the Office of the President, Village Urugwiro, on Thursday evening.
The meetings took place on the sidelines of the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFS Forum) 2026, which was held in Kigali and brought together leaders and stakeholders to discuss ways of strengthening Africa’s food systems.
IFAD is a United Nations specialised agency that works with rural communities to address poverty, improve food security and nutrition, and strengthen agricultural productivity and livelihoods.
The organisation focuses on supporting rural people, particularly small-scale farmers and vulnerable communities, to improve their livelihoods, expand businesses and build resilience to challenges affecting their development.
The discussions come as African countries continue to seek ways to transform agriculture, strengthen food production and build more resilient food systems amid changing economic and environmental conditions. With the global population projected to reach about nine billion by 2050, pressure on food systems is expected to increase, making agricultural transformation and food security key priorities for developing countries.
IFAD directs much of its work towards countries and communities where poverty and hunger are most prevalent, supporting rural populations to improve their livelihoods and strengthen their ability to withstand economic, social and environmental challenges.
President Kagame held talks with AUDA-NEPAD CEO Nardos Bekele-Thomas on advancing Africa’s agricultural transformation.President Kagame met with IFAD Vice President Dr. Gérardine Mukeshimana on the sidelines of AFS Forum 2026.
Fueled by exceptionally warm ocean conditions across the tropical Pacific, El Nino is likely to peak towards the end of this year, according to the WMO’s El Nino/La Nina Update. The likelihood that the event will persist through to February 2027 is “nearly 100 percent,” the WMO said.
“El Nino is being supersized before our eyes,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned. “Sea surface temperatures are rising, temperatures keep climbing, and the world is in the danger zone of extreme weather.”
On the current trajectory, El Nino “may be stronger than anything since our monitoring began, literally off the charts we have used for the past four decades,” WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo told a press conference in Geneva after the release of the Update.
The WMO called on all countries to closely monitor the evolution of the event and respond appropriately. “We are already seeing disruption and devastation from droughts and floods, and we expect these impacts to increase as El Nino intensifies,” said Saulo. “This exceptional El Nino demands exceptional preparation and response.”
El Nino is a natural climate phenomenon characterized by the warming of sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. It typically occurs every two to seven years and lasts about nine to 12 months. Its effects on global temperatures are often most pronounced in the year following its formation.
The WMO noted that a very strong El Nino event increases the likelihood of major changes in rainfall, temperatures and atmospheric circulation across many parts of the world. However, its impacts can vary according to location and season, and can be modified by other climate drivers, including conditions in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.
Fueled by exceptionally warm ocean conditions across the tropical Pacific, El Nino is likely to peak towards the end of this year, according to the WMO’s El Nino/La Nina Update.
The high-profile namers include former football stars, global business leaders, conservation advocates, artists, sports executives and philanthropists, reflecting the international reach of Rwanda’s conservation efforts.
Among the prominent figures expected at the ceremony is Shaikha Al Nuwais, Secretary-General of UN Tourism and the first woman to lead the organisation in its 50-year history.
The list also features football legends Mamadou Sakho, whose professional career spanned from 2007 to 2025, and Patrice Evra, who played professionally between 1998 and 2018. Both are former France internationals with distinguished club careers.
Manchester United legend Patrice Evra, who played professionally between 1998 and 2018, is among the high-profile personalities taking part in Kwita Izina 2026.
Sakho, who captained Paris Saint-Germain during his six-year senior spell at the club (2007–2013), went on to play for Liverpool (2013–2017) and Crystal Palace (2017–2021) in the English Premier League. He later had a stint at Montpellier before concluding his career at Georgian side Torpedo Kutaisi. He earned 29 caps for the French national team between 2010 and 2018.
Evra, who earned 81 international appearances for France between 2004 and 2016, served as captain for both his country and Manchester United. During his eight-year tenure at Old Trafford (2006–2014), he won five Premier League titles and the 2008 UEFA Champions League, before later playing for Juventus, Marseille and West Ham United.
Rwanda will also be represented among the namers by gospel singer and songwriter Israel Mbonyi, one of the country’s most recognised musical voices.
Mbonyi, who has built a large following in Rwanda and across Africa, joins one of the country’s most celebrated conservation traditions as a namer.
Gospel singer Israel Mbonyi has built a large following in Rwanda and across Africa.
The business and investment community will be represented by Eng. Ahmed Sadek, Chairman of Elsewedy Electric, a global energy and infrastructure company that has been involved in Rwanda’s electrification efforts.
Global business leader Dominic Barton, Chairman of Rio Tinto and LeapFrog Investments, will also join the ceremony. Barton previously served as Global Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company and as Canada’s Ambassador to China.
Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, CEO and majority shareholder of Atlético de Madrid and a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, is another high-profile name on the list.
The hospitality investment sector will be represented by Olivier Granet, Managing Partner and Co-CEO of Kasada Capital Management, a hospitality investment platform and investor in Mövenpick Hotel Kigali.
Sports will also feature prominently among this year’s namers.
Francesco Calvo, President of Business Operations at Aston Villa, will join the celebration, alongside global sports executive Paul Danforth, President of CAA Sports and a former Senior Vice President of Sales for the New York Mets.
David Lappartient, President of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), will also return to Rwanda. His participation comes after Rwanda made cycling history in 2025 by hosting the UCI Road World Championships.
David Lappartient, President of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), holds the yellow jersey alongside President Paul Kagame during the historic competitions in Rwanda last year.
Olympic champion Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar is another prominent sports figure taking part. A three-time world champion, Barshim is one of the most accomplished high jumpers of his generation and will join Rwanda in celebrating mountain gorilla conservation.
Conservation will also feature prominently among this year’s namers.
Jeannette Uwimbabazi, a Nyungwe National Park ranger, has been recognised for her dedication to protecting Rwanda’s biodiversity and will take part in the ceremony as a representative of those working on the front lines of conservation.
Kelly O’Meara, Executive Director of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA), is another conservation advocate among the namers. She works to promote primate protection and welfare across Africa.
Neil McDougall, Founder and Chairman of delAgua Group, will also join the 21st Kwita Izina as a namer. He leads efforts to expand access to clean cooking and improve livelihoods across Africa.
The ceremony will also bring together leading voices from wildlife filmmaking. Alastair Fothergill, the award-winning filmmaker behind productions including Planet Earth, Blue Planet and A Gorilla Story: Told by Sir David Attenborough, is among those set to name a gorilla.
Rwandan filmmaker Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo will also take part. Her film Ben’Imana was selected for the Un Certain Regard section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, and she now joins Rwanda’s conservation celebration as a namer.
The list extends to personalities using their public platforms to support social causes.
Kenza Johanna Ameloot, Miss Belgium 2024 of Rwandan heritage, is among the namers. She has used her platform to advocate for children affected by cataracts.
Kenza Johanna Ameloot, Miss Belgium 2024 of Rwandan heritage, is among the namers.
Former Aston Villa captain and Wales international James Chester will also take part. Chester helped Aston Villa return to the Premier League and represented Wales at UEFA Euro 2016.
Philanthropy and social impact will be represented by several namers.
Susan Hollern, Founder and President of Hope Haven Rwanda, will join the ceremony. She has worked to advance education and family transformation in Rwanda since 2011.
Philanthropy leader Dominique Plewes, Founder of SOF Support Foundation, will also take part. The foundation supports research and humanitarian initiatives in conflict-affected communities.
Philanthropists Garreth and Nicola Wood will also join the ceremony.
Garreth Wood MBE, a Scottish entrepreneur and philanthropist, chairs The Wood Foundation. Together with his wife, Nicola Wood MBE, he co-founded Kids Operating Room, a global health charity focused on expanding access to safe paediatric surgery in low-resource settings.
Garreth Wood MBE will attend the baby gorilla naming ceremony with his wife, Nicola Wood MBE, who will also take part as a namer.
Their participation adds a global philanthropy dimension to this year’s ceremony, which continues to use gorilla conservation as a platform for bringing together people from different sectors and parts of the world.
Kwita Izina has grown into one of Rwanda’s most prominent conservation events, drawing international attention to the protection of mountain gorillas and the communities living alongside their habitat.
The 2026 edition will once again bring together personalities whose influence spans sports, tourism, business, conservation, entertainment and philanthropy, with each namer playing a role in celebrating Rwanda’s commitment to protecting its iconic mountain gorillas.
According to the Rwanda Development Board’s (RDB) 2025 annual performance report, Rwanda’s tourism sector generated $685 million in revenue in 2025, nearly four times the $164 million recorded in 2021.
Tourism revenue rose to $455 million in 2022 as the sector recovered from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, before reaching $620 million in 2023 and $647 million in 2024.
In 2025, tourism revenue increased by 6% compared with the previous year, supported by growth in visitor numbers and air travel. Revenue from air travel rose by 9% to $594 million.
Gorilla tourism accounted for a significant share of those earnings, generating $248 million in 2025, an increase of 7%.
Rwanda received 1.49 million visitors during the year, up from 1.36 million in 2024, representing a 9% increase. Visitors arriving by air increased by 23%.
The growth illustrates how the conservation of a species once considered highly vulnerable has become closely intertwined with Rwanda’s tourism ambitions.
Bringing tourism benefits to communities
Rwanda has also sought to ensure that the economic value created by conservation reaches communities living near national parks.
Through its tourism revenue-sharing programme, 10% of tourism revenues is allocated to communities living around protected areas.
The funds are invested in projects such as schools, health centres, water infrastructure and other community facilities.
RDB says more than Rwf23 billion has been invested in nearly 1,300 community projects since the programme began.
The initiative, supported by The Rockefeller Foundation and implemented with partners including Vanguard Economics and the World Food Programme (WFP), seeks to replace refined maize flour with fortified whole-grain alternatives in school meals.
Diane Dusabeyezu, Consultant and Programme Manager at Vanguard Economics, said the initiative is being implemented as part of broader efforts to strengthen regenerative school meals and improve nutrition among children.
Speaking to IGIHE during the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) in Kigali, Dusabeyezu explained that the approach goes beyond simply changing what is placed on children’s plates.
“It’s an entire value chain actor in the initiative program with whom we are engaging in running this project in Rwanda,” she said.
The initiative works with farmers, millers, premix companies, government institutions and other stakeholders to ensure the product can be produced, supplied and accepted at scale.
From farmers to schoolchildren
Dusabeyezu noted that Vanguard Economics has supported food processors through training on fortified whole grain production, access to quality inputs and premix, as well as efforts to ensure millers have the necessary certification to supply school feeding programmes.
Farmers are also being trained and supported with access to appropriate inputs and assistance in developing business cases to help them secure financing.
“We have been providing training to farmers. We have been supporting them in getting the right inputs. We have also been supporting them in writing a business case to get the financial support they need,” she said.
The initiative also involves engagement with Rwanda’s Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources and Ministry of Education, as well as private-sector companies and development partners.
Dusabeyezu stressed that such collaboration is important because introducing a new food product requires awareness and acceptance among the different actors who will ultimately be involved in its production and consumption.
The Rockefeller Foundation describes this broader approach as “regenerative school meals”, which connects local farmers with public school procurement systems to improve children’s nutrition while strengthening local economies and food systems.
The broader approach was also showcased through Solid Africa, a Rockefeller Foundation grantee working to improve nutrition through school meals and stronger local food systems. During a field visit in Kigali, participants visited Solid Africa’s model, which includes a kitchen garden, nutrition education and a centralised kitchen supplying meals to schoolchildren.
Diane Dusabeyezu, Consultant and Programme Manager at Vanguard Economics, said the initiative is being implemented as part of broader efforts to strengthen regenerative school meals and improve nutrition among children.
Why whole grain?
Unlike refined maize flour, fortified whole grain flour uses the entire grain, including the bran and germ, which contain important nutrients.
The Rockefeller Foundation says fortified whole grain foods can provide substantially more nutrition than refined alternatives, while the Rwanda pilot found that the product could be produced at the same cost as refined maize flour.
Rwanda’s school feeding guidelines also identify fortified maize flour or whole grain meal as an important source of micronutrients in school meals.
The initiative was initially piloted in 18 schools in Rwanda. According to WFP, more than 13,500 children were reached during the initial phase, with 73% of children demonstrating awareness of the nutritional benefits of fortified whole grains and 97% preferring the whole grain product to its refined equivalent.
The programme subsequently expanded, with the Rockefeller Foundation reporting that nearly 74,000 students in 81 schools had been reached in Rwanda by January 2023.
Testing before scaling
Dusabeyezu recalled that the project spent time developing and testing the product before expanding its reach.
“We did consumer research because you need to do a testing of the product. You need to take it to the household. They test, then you improve the quality, the texture, the colour,” she said.
The initiative also worked with early childhood development centres and conducted pilots to establish whether children would accept the product.
She pointed to the experience as evidence that programmes seeking to achieve lasting impact should involve government, private-sector players and food processors from the beginning.
“When the pilot is successful, it’s easy to scale up,” she said.
The initiative is being expanded through a phased approach, with the long-term ambition of reaching more than 3 million schoolchildren across Rwanda.
Rwanda’s experience has already attracted interest beyond the initial pilot. A 2024 initiative involving the National Industrial Research and Development Agency (NIRDA) and Vanguard Economics sought to increase the capacity of local maize millers to produce fortified whole grain maize flour, including through technical assessments, plant upgrades and training.
Unlike refined maize flour, fortified whole grain flour uses the entire grain, including the bran and germ, which contain important nutrients.
Government ownership key to sustainability
For Dusabeyezu, one of the most important lessons from the project is the importance of government ownership.
She argued that initiatives are more likely to become sustainable when they are integrated into existing government policies and programmes rather than operating as separate projects.
“The key, very important point is really the government ownership,” she said.
The fortified whole grain initiative is being implemented within Rwanda’s existing school feeding system, rather than creating a separate programme.
Rwanda formally launched its National School Feeding Programme in October 2021, while its school feeding policy provides for nutritious meals for children in pre-primary, primary and secondary schools.
Dusabeyezu said Rwanda’s adoption of universal school feeding provides an experience that other African countries could study and potentially adapt to their own circumstances.
Measuring acceptance and future nutrition impact
At its current stage, the initiative is primarily tracking product acceptance, certification of millers and the quality of premix used in production.
Baseline and endline surveys are being conducted among schoolchildren to assess acceptance of the fortified whole grain product.
Dusabeyezu indicated that the longer-term objective is to track the nutritional impact on children as the initiative expands.
The broader approach is consistent with the Rockefeller Foundation’s school meals strategy, which seeks to use school feeding not only to address child nutrition but also to strengthen local food systems and create markets for farmers.
A model for other African countries
Dusabeyezu said the Africa Food Systems Forum provides an opportunity for countries to share experiences and identify approaches that can be adapted to different national contexts.
She pointed to Rwanda’s universal school feeding system, local sourcing and the involvement of farmers and food processors as some of the experiences that other countries could examine.
“The delegates that will attend the forum will learn from what is already being implemented in Rwanda,” she said, adding that they could take lessons from the country’s experience and consider how to replicate them in their own contexts.
The 20th Africa Food Systems Forum is being held in Kigali through September 4, 2026, bringing together more than 5,000 delegates from over 50 countries to discuss investment, nutrition, food security, climate resilience, youth, technology and intra-African trade.
The Rwanda initiative forms part of a broader effort by The Rockefeller Foundation to strengthen school meal programmes globally. In 2025, the Foundation committed $100 million over five years to support efforts to provide more nutritious school meals to 100 million children worldwide, with a focus on locally and regeneratively grown food.
For Rwanda, the fortified whole grain initiative represents an attempt to make school meals serve a broader purpose: improving children’s diets while creating demand for locally produced food, strengthening value chains and demonstrating how public food programmes can support wider food-system transformation.
Speaking during a presidential conversation with young entrepreneurs at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 in Kigali on Thursday, President Kagame said financial systems across the continent are often structured in ways that make capital more accessible to people who already have the resources and collateral required to secure financing.
“Unfortunately, a number of parts of financial systems on our continent are framed in such a way that they mostly avail capital to those who have collateral,” Kagame noted.
He argued that governments have a role to play in reducing the risks faced by financial institutions when lending to young entrepreneurs who may have viable businesses but lack sufficient collateral.
Kagame pointed to Rwanda’s experience with development financing as an example of how public resources can help make capital available to groups that would otherwise struggle to access it.
According to the President, the government and its partners had put resources into a development fund aimed at ensuring capital reaches a wider section of the population, particularly young people who cannot easily afford financing.
The President was responding to a question from Mussa Mishamo, a 34-year-old agricultural engineer and founder of Rada360 from Tanzania, who told him that young Africans have brilliant ideas and innovations in agriculture but often lack access to capital and collateral.
Mishamo explained that Rada360 maps farms and uses digital solutions to monitor farmers from planting to harvesting, including crop health and climate shocks such as flooding, drought and wildfires. The company also provides traceability services to help farmers meet emerging market requirements.
He asked what should change in Africa’s existing financial institutions to enable them to take greater risks on young entrepreneurs.
In response, Kagame linked the issue to the broader responsibility of governments to create an environment in which young people can turn their capabilities and ideas into businesses.
Earlier in the conversation, Fareeda Mustapha, co-founder and CEO of PureLube Ghana, asked Kagame what governments must do differently to make agri-food systems a major engine of job creation.
Kagame stressed that governments must find ways to support people who have the capacity and desire to contribute to the economy but lack some of the resources needed to do so.
He also highlighted the breadth of opportunities available across Africa’s food economy, urging young entrepreneurs to look beyond farming itself and consider gaps in areas such as logistics, technology, irrigation, storage and markets.
“If we had the opportunity to think about that now, there is actually a whole long chain of things you can think about,” Kagame remarked.
The President encouraged young entrepreneurs to identify opportunities that match their passions and skills, while recognising that Africa’s food system extends from the farm through communities and national markets to international markets.
The conversation also focused on leadership, with Lydia Murekatete, co-founder of Rwanda-based All Greens, asking Kagame what lesson from Rwanda’s transformation young African leaders and entrepreneurs should carry with them.
Kagame stressed that leadership ultimately requires action, rather than simply ideas or inspiration.
He advised young people to begin by examining themselves before attempting to solve problems around them, saying self-reflection can help entrepreneurs identify and prioritise the challenges they are best positioned to address.
“Before you set out to go and address problems out there, think about yourself first,” the Head of State advised.
Murekatete said All Greens grows vegetables in climate-controlled greenhouses and distributes them through company-owned stores and direct business-to-business supply channels. She added that the company has provided market access to more than 200 farmers.
The presidential conversation brought together young entrepreneurs from across Africa and formed part of the weeklong Africa Food Systems Forum 2026, which closes on Friday, September 4, in Kigali.
The forum has brought together more than 5,000 delegates from 50 countries, including government leaders and policymakers; investors and financial institutions; farmers and smallholder representatives; scientists and researchers; youth entrepreneurs and innovators; private-sector executives and business leaders; civil society organisations; and academia.
The broader forum has focused on accelerating the transformation of Africa’s food systems, with discussions around investment, innovation, climate resilience, trade, technology and the role of young people in creating jobs and transforming agricultural economies.
In a video message to the forum, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed also called for greater investment in Africa’s food systems, including responsible private investment and affordable finance for smallholder farmers and small businesses.
She highlighted that the African Continental Free Trade Area offers an opportunity to strengthen regional value chains, expand intra-African trade and create more jobs on the continent.
President Paul Kagame spoke during a presidential conversation with young entrepreneurs at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 in Kigali on Thursday, President Kagame said financial systems across the continent are often structured in ways that make capital more accessible to people who already have the resources and collateral required to secure financing.
Nshimiyimana Augustin, formerly known as ‘Colonel Bora Manasse’ while serving in the FDLR, said the group has senior military and political leadership structures extending down to lower levels that resemble provincial administrations.
Col Bora said the military wing, known as FDLR/FOCA, is led by Ntawunguka Pacifique, also known as General Omega, who is deputized by Uzabakiriho Cyprien, known as Kolomboka.
He explained that FDLR/FOCA has departments responsible for personnel, known as J1; intelligence, J2; operations, J3; logistics, J4; and planning, J5.
“J1 is led by Emile Ruterimbere, J2 by Uwimbabazi Sebastien, commonly known as Kimenyi, J3 by Nzabanita Lucien, J4 by Gaterura, and J5 by Nouvelle. That is how it is structured at the headquarters.”
How FDLR organises its military operations
Col Bora explained that the FDLR has different groups of fighters deployed across various parts of eastern DRC.
He said some of its units are based in Kalehe and other parts of South Kivu, as well as in Virunga National Park and the Pinga area of Walikale Territory.
The FDLR also has a special combat unit known as CRAP, which, according to Col Bora, is led by Guillaume Rurakabije.
He said the group also has lower-level structures known as sub-sectors, including those referred to as Canaan and Sinai. One is led by Gustave Omega, while the other is led by Gustave Kubwayo, also known as Sirkoof.
Col Bora further explained that the FDLR established a special structure responsible for recruiting and enrolling new fighters, known as Groupement des Écoles.
According to him, the structure is responsible for recruiting fighters among Rwandan refugees living in the DRC, their descendants and Congolese nationals.
However, he said the structure is no longer operating effectively as it once did because areas where it operated have come under attacks by AFC/M23.
“These days, M23 is firing in those areas, so it is no longer operating, but it is still there. It is called Groupement des Écoles, and it is responsible for recruiting soldiers to strengthen the group,” he said.
FDLR’s political leadership
In addition to its military structures, Col Bora said the FDLR also has a political leadership that oversees the group’s activities more broadly.
At the political level, the FDLR is headed by President Byiringiro Victor, also known as Gaston Iyamuremye or Rumuri.
The political leadership also includes Commissioner Busogo, who is responsible for military affairs; Rukorera, who oversees mobilisation; and Cure Ngoma, who is responsible for intelligence and serves as the group’s spokesperson.
There is also a special military adviser, Colonel Binego, while Mihigo Cyrille, known as Henganze, is responsible for military and civilian intelligence.
Binego previously served as the burgomaster of Satinsyi Commune in the former Gisenyi Prefecture.
Col Bora said FDLR’s lower-level structures include what he called “Regional Committee”, which he compared to provincial administrative structures.
“I would compare them to a governor who is responsible for knowing the problems of refugees at the grassroots level, preparing reports and sending them to the commission responsible for refugees or to Rumuri. Issues they cannot resolve are sent to Kinshasa,” he said.
The FDLR has operated in eastern DRC for decades and has been accused of contributing to insecurity in the region.
The group was formed by Interahamwe militia members and former soldiers and political officials who were involved in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and fled to the DRC.
Brig Gen Ezechiel Gakwerere (front) was arrested in 2025 while serving as the FDLR Secretary General.Col Bora Manasse explained that the FDLR is organised along both military and political lines.
The call came during “Fermentation: from Evidence to Scale,” a high-level Breakthrough Event convened by Sight and Life at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 in Kigali, Rwanda.
The session brought together senior leaders from Rwanda, Nigeria and Ethiopia, including representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture of Rwanda and Nigeria, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia and the French Ambassador to Rwanda, alongside representatives from philanthropy, science and Africa’s culinary community to examine what is needed to move fermented foods from longstanding traditional practice towards wider recognition, investment and responsible scale.
Fermentation has been part of African food cultures for generations, transforming locally produced foods and supporting preservation, dietary diversity and livelihoods. Yet despite its widespread use, its potential remains relatively underrepresented within contemporary nutrition and food systems strategies.
“Fermentation has long been part of how African communities produce, preserve and enjoy food. The opportunity now is to strengthen that foundation with better evidence, innovation and investment so it can contribute more to nutrition, livelihoods and resilience,” said Elvis Gakuba, Africa Director at Sight and Life. “We need to back fermentation as a practical, locally rooted pathway to healthier diets, stronger local economies and more resilient food systems,” he said.
Elvis Gakuba – Africa Director, Sight and Life
Moving an African food tradition onto the food systems agenda
Discussions throughout the session underscored a central message that fermentation should not be viewed simply as a tradition to preserve, but as an existing part of African food systems whose potential can be strengthened through science, policy and investment.
Speakers explored the diversity of fermented foods already consumed across the continent and the opportunity to build on knowledge embedded within communities rather than beginning solely with solutions developed elsewhere.
Speaking on behalf of Dr. Telesphore Ndabamenye, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources of Rwanda, Dr. Patrick Karangwa, Director General of Agriculture Modernization at the Ministry, highlighted the importance of recognising fermentation within the broader shift towards African-led food systems solutions.
“Fermentation is not a foreign solution being introduced to Africa. It is rooted in our own food traditions and communities,” said Dr. Karangwa. “The opportunity is to strengthen that knowledge through science, standards and policy so that it can contribute more deliberately to nutrition and food systems transformation. We welcome Sight and Life’s leadership in bringing this conversation to the African Food Systems Forum.”
Dr. Patrick Karangwa, Director General of Agriculture Modernization for the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Republic of Rwanda
The discussion also examined the practical role governments can play, including strengthening research, food composition data, food safety and quality standards, dietary guidance and other policies that create an enabling environment for fermented foods.
Nigeria: linking fermentation with food security and local value addition
Nigeria’s long history of fermented foods was another important focus of the dialogue.
Senator Abubakar Kyari, CON, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security of Nigeria, highlighted the relevance of fermentation to Nigeria’s wider priorities around food security, domestic processing and agricultural value addition.
“Nigeria already has a rich diversity of fermented foods and generations of knowledge around how they are produced. The opportunity is to strengthen what already exists, through research, improved processing, standards, innovation and stronger markets,” said Senator Kyari. “This can create opportunities for better nutrition, for farmers, processors, women entrepreneurs and local businesses throughout our food value chains.”
Senator Abubakar Kyari, CON, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security of Nigeria
Speakers emphasised that women are particularly important to this agenda. Across many African communities, women play a central role in the production, processing and sale of fermented foods. Expanding access to finance, technology, markets and business support could therefore enable fermentation to contribute more strongly to both nutrition and women’s economic participation.
A Global South solution rooted in existing knowledge
The session also drew attention to Ethiopia’s extensive fermentation heritage, including foods such as injera that have long been central to diets and culture.
Demeke Mekonnen Hassen, former Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Founder and Board Chairperson of YADAM Foundation, argued that fermentation demonstrates the value of looking within African food systems for solutions that can be strengthened through science.
“This is a strong example of an initiative emerging from the Global South and building on practices African communities have carried for generations,” said Demeke Mekonnen Hassen. “In Ethiopia, fermented foods are already deeply embedded in our diets and culture. The next step is to strengthen the research around them and create the policy, regulatory and investment environment that allows promising solutions to move to scale.”
Demeke Mekonnen Hassen, former Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia; Founder and Board Chairperson of YADAM Foundation
He also reaffirmed YADAM Foundation’s interest in working with Sight and Life to strengthen research and explore how fermentation can contribute to nutrition and public health priorities in Ethiopia.
Bringing the evidence to Africa
A central part of the session was Sight and Life’sSpecial Report, Fermentation: An Ancient Solution to Modern Challenges.
The report brings together the science behind fermentation, examines barriers and opportunities for scale, presents experiences from low- and middle-income countries and outlines a framework for moving from evidence towards action.
At AFSF, Sight and Life shared key insights from the report with a high-level continental audience, while scientists at the session examined what is known, and what still needs to be understood about the nutritional and health potential of African fermented foods.
Dr. Elmer Nayra Ametefe, Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, stressed the need to strengthen Africa’s own evidence base.
“Africa’s fermented foods carry generations of knowledge, but science can help us understand their full potential,” said Dr. Ametefe. “By strengthening the evidence around their nutritional and health benefits, we can better position these foods as part of the solutions for healthier diets and stronger food systems.”
The conversation also highlighted the need for greater investment in characterising traditional fermented foods, understanding their composition and safety, and translating scientific findings into products, programmes and policies.
From evidence to investment
Speakers also discussed how funders, development partners and investors can support the evidence, innovation and partnerships needed to take fermentation to scale.
“At CIFF, we are pleased to support this work because it brings together three things that matter for scale: strong evidence, locally rooted solutions and the partnerships needed to move from research into practice. Fermentation is already part of people’s diets and communities; the opportunity now is to strengthen the evidence and enabling conditions so that its potential can be realised more widely and sustainably,” Anna Hakobyan, Chief Impact Officer and Executive Director, Nutrition, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation said.
That emphasis on locally relevant solutions was echoed by Zouera Youssoufou, Managing Director and CEO of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, who highlighted the importance of supporting solutions that can operate within existing food systems and reach communities at scale.
“For the Aliko Dangote Foundation, tackling malnutrition means backing solutions that are practical, locally grounded and capable of reaching people at scale,” said Youssoufou. “Fermentation offers that opportunity, building on foods Nigerians already know, produce and consume, while using evidence and innovation to unlock greater nutritional value, strengthen livelihoods and improve food and nutrition security.”
Participants agreed that moving fermentation to scale will require collaboration across sectors. Governments have a role in creating enabling policy and regulatory environments; researchers must continue strengthening the evidence; businesses and entrepreneurs can translate knowledge into products and markets; and philanthropic and development partners can help support innovation and de-risk early investment.
From conversation to action
Sight and Life used the AFSF session to call for fermentation to receive greater consideration within Africa’s nutrition and food systems agenda.
Rather than creating an entirely new solution, the opportunity lies in strengthening practices and foods that already exist, supporting them with the science, standards, investment and partnerships required to increase their contribution to nutrition, economic opportunity and resilient food systems.
“The question is no longer simply whether fermentation has potential,” Elvis Gakuba added. “The question is what we are prepared to do collectively, through research, policy, partnerships and investment, to unlock that potential. Kigali has helped move that conversation forward, and our focus now must be on turning that momentum into action.”
Sight and Life is expected to continue working with governments, researchers, philanthropic organisations and other partners to strengthen the evidence around fermented foods and identify pathways towards responsible scale.
About Sight and Life
Sight and Life is a Swiss-based innovation and systems-transformation foundation, working to end malnutrition and build resilient food systems. Founded four decades ago on the belief that better evidence can improve lives, we bridge science, governments, markets and communities to turn nutrition research into solutions that reach people at scale.
About the Africa Food Systems Forum
The Africa Food Systems Forum is a leading continental platform for African agriculture and food systems, bringing together governments, businesses, researchers, development partners, farmers and other stakeholders to advance practical action on food systems transformation.
Its mission is to inform, influence and catalyse the transition to sustainable, resilient and inclusive food systems across Africa, with a strong focus on investment, policy reform, women and youth.
For the 2026 edition, the Forum is being held in Kigali, Rwanda, under the theme “Investing in Africa’s Agri-Food Systems: Nourishing Nations, Growing Jobs, Building Resilience.”
Speakers with the Sight and Life Special Report on Fermentation
The emerging technology push is part of a wider government effort to use AI to extend agricultural expertise to millions of farmers, improve the timing and accuracy of farming decisions and address some of the constraints limiting productivity.
Martine Nezerwa, Chief Digital Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), presented the tools on Tuesday, September 1, on the sidelines of the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 at the Kigali Convention Centre. The tools use data on local conditions to recommend crops, planting periods and fertiliser application.
Speaking during the session, ICT Minister Paula Ingabire said agriculture presents both a major opportunity and an urgent need for AI, given the sector’s importance to employment across sub-Saharan Africa.
She said nearly half of employment in sub-Saharan Africa is in agriculture, yet many farmers continue to make critical decisions about planting, fertiliser application, crop diseases, harvesting and markets with limited information or information that arrives too late.
She stressed that AI should not be viewed as a replacement for farmers or agricultural experts, but as a tool to put better intelligence in their hands.
The minister said Rwanda wants to increase agricultural extension coverage from 35 per cent in 2023 to 69 per cent by 2029, a target that would enable the country to reach more than 2.5 million farmers.
She said expanding the number of agricultural extension officers alone would not be enough to close the gap, making technology an important multiplier.
“This is where technology will become an enabling or multiplier factor in ensuring that we can reach more farmers with fewer extension officers,” she said.
One example of this approach is Tunga, an AI-powered voice assistant being tested through the agriculture ministry’s call centre.
Tunga allows farmers to ask questions in Kinyarwanda and provides responses based on a validated agricultural knowledge base developed by MINAGRI, the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) and partners.
During the testing phase, Ingabire said Tunga was able to correctly address at least 60 per cent of the questions it received, while questions it could not confidently answer could be escalated to a human expert.
Ingabire said developing AI systems that work in local languages and through channels accessible to farmers would be critical to achieving scale.
“A brilliant model that requires an expensive smartphone and continuous broadband will not solve the problem for many of our farmers,” she stated, noting the importance of solutions that can work through voice, basic phones, extension agents and existing agricultural platforms.
The roundtable discussion at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 focused on unlocking the potential of artificial intelligence to transform agriculture.
Four priority areas
Ingabire outlined four areas in which Rwanda is prioritising AI applications in agriculture.
The first is farmer advisory, with the aim of providing personalised, timely advice in local languages.
The second is crop and livestock intelligence, including earlier detection of pests, diseases and other agricultural risks.
The third is markets and finance, where AI could help connect farmers to buyers while improving access to prices, credit and insurance.
The fourth is government intelligence, which could help authorities better understand production, anticipate shocks and target input subsidies and other resources.
The minister said Rwanda’s challenge is no longer demonstrating that AI can be used in agriculture, but taking successful applications beyond small-scale pilots.
“Africa has no shortage of pilots. What we need is patient multi-year financing to take solutions that are working for 10,000 farmers to millions of farmers,” she said.
Rwanda has already spent years building digital systems that can provide a foundation for AI applications.
Ingabire cited the e-Soko platform, which digitised the collection and sharing of agricultural market prices, and Smart Nkunganire, which digitises the agro-input subsidy value chain.
More than 1.5 million farmers are registered on Smart Nkunganire and can order subsidised seeds and fertilisers through USSD transactions, she said.
According to the minister, these systems have created a growing digital footprint of Rwanda’s agricultural economy, alongside investments in connectivity, digital identity and digital public infrastructure.
She said the next step is to extract greater value from these foundations through AI.
The roundtable discussion brought together government officials, technology experts, agriculture specialists and other stakeholders to explore how artificial intelligence can be harnessed to transform agriculture and improve productivity across Africa.
Focus on locally relevant AI
The minister also called for investment in agricultural data, African-language datasets and locally validated AI models.
She said farmers in Africa grow crops that may be poorly represented in global datasets and often speak languages that are underrepresented in existing AI systems.
“We need African language datasets, agriculture knowledge bases, as well as locally validated models,” she stressed.
She also called for greater investment in the last mile so that AI-powered services are accessible to farmers who do not have smartphones or reliable broadband connectivity.
For Rwanda, the government wants to move from isolated AI projects to an integrated system that brings together agricultural data, advisory services, markets, finance and government decision-making.
The country is also seeking to coordinate investment in computing infrastructure across sectors rather than having agriculture, healthcare, education and other sectors develop separate requirements for computing power and GPUs.
Ingabire said Rwanda’s approach to AI sovereignty is focused on maintaining strategic autonomy and avoiding irreversible dependence on external players while continuing to encourage innovation.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Agriculture and Animal Resources Dr. Solange Uwituze said AI would be necessary if Rwanda is to meet its long-term food production ambitions.
She said Rwanda’s Vision 2050 targets feeding a population of roughly 23 million people on the country’s existing land area, requiring major increases in production.
“We need to do things differently. We need to multiply 15 times our current production levels, and we need to adopt vertical agriculture,” Uwituze said.
She pointed to precision agriculture, farmer cooperative management, irrigation, post-harvest handling and market linkages as areas where AI could support the transformation.
Rwanda is also using food basket sites, where farmers are organised around larger land-use areas and provided with inputs, extension services, irrigation, post-harvest facilities and market and financial linkages.
Uwituze said these systems will generate large amounts of data that can be used to improve agricultural decision-making.
She also noted that Rwanda has completed soil profiling to identify nutrient deficiencies in different locations and is moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach to fertiliser application.
Through cooperation with Morocco, Rwanda has begun developing tailored fertiliser recommendations based on local soil conditions.
With early tests pointing to potential yield gains of about 20 per cent, Rwanda is now looking to move these applications from promising pilots to tools that can reach millions of farmers.
Speaking during the session, ICT Minister Paula Ingabire said agriculture presents both a major opportunity and an urgent need for AI, given the sector’s importance to employment across sub-Saharan Africa.
