African Food Fellowship welcomes 63 new Fellows

The Africa Food Fellowship is happy to announce that 63 new Fellows have joined our fourth cohorts in Kenya and Rwanda. They started their journey with the 10-month Food Systems Leadership Programme with weekly learning sessions that kicked off this October.

The programme, which is delivered by tutors and experts from Wageningen University & Research and Wasafiri Consulting, will immerse the Fellows into the world of food systems and systemic change, allowing them to develop a common language and understanding around how systemic change happens. The Fellows will gain skills and knowledge designed to hone their food systems leadership skills through modules such as Foresight and Scenarios,  and  Critical Data, Knowledge and Evidence.

Olivier Muvandimwe, a Rwanda Food Fellow, says that joining the fellowship was the best opportunity for him to deeply understand what food systems means, and learn how all the components work together.

“Working in the agribusiness space, we sometimes think we are experts, but meeting people from different backgrounds and organizations, you learn a lot from them, and put yourself in a position to be challenged and improve. This Fellowship already feels like home,” he said.

His sentiments were echoed by Sophie Nabuliri from Kenya who expressed her joy at getting picked for the Fellowship and the opportunity to learn new and connect with her peers.

“I’m thrilled to be part of this food systems leadership programme. Excited for the opportunity to learn, network, make an impact, and help transform our food systems alongside these amazing fellows,” she said.

The new Fellows represent brilliant food systems leaders working in various sectors including the government, private sector, non-profit, academia and research. Many of them are already experts in their sectors but have expressed an interest in taking a more systemic approach to their work. They observed that focusing on food systems and systemic thinking is timely because it is inclusive, and maps how the entire food system is connected.

Upon graduation from the FSLP, the Fellows will showcase their food systems actions, which are initiatives highlighting the food systems challenges they are working on, their collaborators, challenges, and achievements so far, and next steps of action. They will then expand their leadership journey through the Food Systems Leaders Network. This is a curated space where they will deepen their relationships with other Fellows in the network and benefit from action-oriented support through peer and technical mentoring from industry experts. Fellows will continue to enjoy opportunities to learn and co-create knowledge.

Anysie Ishimwe, AFF Rwanda Dean, told the new Fellows to embrace the opportunity to better their food systems leadership skills, and contribute to solutions.

“I am sure everywhere you work, you have your own frustrations, things you think about that could be different. We are here so we can collectively work to make sure that food systems are inclusive, healthy and sustainable, and we believe you are here because you share in that passion” she said.

The launch of its fourth cohort is an affirmation of the African Food Fellowship’s growth trajectory, signaling that the initiative is gaining momentum towards its goal of building vibrant community of thousands of African food systems leaders driving desired food systems across the continent. The Fellowship, which enrolls new Fellows every year, now counts 230 Fellows in Rwanda and Kenya.