31 August – 4 September 2026
Kigali, Rwanda
At Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, Practical Action is calling for investment in the missing links that help farmers, local businesses and markets thrive together – particularly in underserved communities that current investment overlooks.
Investment in Africa’s food systems is growing. But it rarely reaches remote communities and displacement settings, where young people, women and people with disabilities are already running enterprises investment overlooks. The barriers to lasting outcomes build up across production, harvesting, storage, transport and markets — and the right response depends on the crop, the place and the market.
For sixty years, we have built the missing links in challenging contexts, from refugee camps to remote rural communities, connecting regenerative agriculture, renewable energy, markets and local leadership. Better production alone does not make a business. That takes reliable power, buyers who can process and pay, finance people can access, and the coordination that holds the parts together.
We’re meeting with partners and funders to make the case and build the partnerships that help take secure livelihoods through connected food, energy and market systems further and faster.
Check out our Practical Action food systems programme or learn more about what this looks like in practice.
We want to connect with funders, investors, governments, policymakers and partners who are ready to back practical, evidence-based solutions for food systems that work in underserved markets. We are especially interested in conversations about productive use of energy, regenerative agriculture, inclusive markets, rural enterprise and investment models that reach communities where finance and infrastructure often fall short.
To request a meeting or to get in touch with delegates please message us: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +250780257656
Media enquiries – Steve Kubate and Andrew Heath
Rwanda: powering enterprise in displacement settings
Through F2MARY, H-PURE and RE4R, we’re supporting refugee and host-community entrepreneurs to access renewable energy for productive use, boosting incomes, creating jobs, and strengthening farmers’ resilience to climate change.
Kenya: youth-led agribusiness at scale
Our RAY programme is generating astounding results, increasing incomes of over 100,000 young people by an average of 168%. CE4HOW is turning household organic waste into opportunity, improving people’s lives and livelihoods and producing organic fertiliser to restore soil health for local farmers. While KilimoHai is testing if school meal programmes can create demand for food grown using agroecological practices.
Last-mile markets: reaching people others do not
The Global Distributors Collective, hosted by Practical Action, brings together last-mile distribution businesses across Africa, Asia and Latin America, with more than 300 member businesses across 60 countries.
Read more on our Africa webpages and in our brochure (English and French).
