Rwanda is poised to become a regional hub for sustainable cooling and cold-chain systems, serving not only national needs but also those of the wider East African region, officials have said.

They make the observations during a UK–Rwanda Climate Partnership Conference convened by the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain (ACES) on March 24.

Across Africa, the absence of reliable cold-chain systems continues to drive post-harvest losses, limit access to healthcare, and constrain trade.

This challenge is particularly significant for agricultural economies, where the ability to preserve perishable produce directly influences food security, farmer incomes, and export potential.

Bernadette Arakwiye, Rwanda’s Minister of Environment, said ACES, established with support from the UK Government and global partners, is designed as a Pan-African hub for sustainable cooling, bringing together research, training, testing, and certification under one roof.

"It’s model is aligned with global best practice, including insights from the UNEP Cool Coalition and the International Energy Agency, which emphasise that sustainable cooling is critical to achieving climate goals while supporting development,” she said.

She noted that what distinguishes ACES and positions Rwanda as a regional leader is its focus on systems capability. This includes training the next generation of cooling technicians and engineers, testing and certifying equipment to ensure performance and efficiency, supporting the development of standards and regulatory frameworks, and enabling local innovation and, over time, domestic manufacturing.

In Rwanda, more than 30 per cent of food is lost after harvest, while across Africa, nearly 40 per cent of food production is lost post-harvest. Much of this loss is attributed to inadequate post-handling facilities, including insufficient cold-chain infrastructure.

"Cooling is often invisible, but it is fundamental,” Arakwiye said. "It is the difference between food that nourishes and food that is lost, between vaccines that save lives and those that fail, and between opportunity and inefficiency across entire value chains.”

She added that millions of dollars’ worth of cooling equipment across agriculture, health, and logistics remains underutilised or non-functional, not because of a lack of investment, but due to gaps in maintenance, technical expertise, and system design.

Highlighting the urgency of the issue, Arakwiye referenced remarks by President Paul Kagame during a recent national consultative meeting, in which he emphasised that the lack of reliable cold-chain systems requires immediate attention and accountability.

Rwanda, she said, faces several pressing and practical challenges.

Many cooling systems installed in the agriculture and health sectors are not functioning optimally.

This is often due to minor technical faults, lack of spare parts, or a shortage of trained technicians capable of diagnosing and repairing them.

As a result, critical infrastructure remains idle, leading to losses for farmers and risks to public health systems.

The country also faces a shortage of skilled professionals who can install, maintain, and repair sustainable cooling technologies.

Without this workforce, even the most well-funded investments cannot deliver meaningful impact.

Cooling infrastructure, she added, remains insufficient to meet the demands of a growing and modern economy.

From farm-level aggregation to cold storage, refrigerated transport, and processing, the gaps are evident and costly.

"Addressing these challenges is not optional,” she said. "It is fundamental to our development.”

Minister Arakwiye outlined three key priorities for action

For Minister Arakwiye, the first priority is scaling the cooling infrastructure.

In this regard, she emphasised the need for a national network of sustainable cold chains supporting agriculture, healthcare, and trade.

This includes packhouses, cold rooms, refrigerated logistics, and integrated systems that connect rural producers to urban and export markets.

"Reducing post-harvest loss is one of the fastest ways to increase farmer incomes, strengthen food security, and reduce pressure on natural resources,” she said.

The second priority is investing in skills and maintenance ecosystems.

She called for the training, certification, and deployment of cooling technicians across the country, alongside the establishment of reliable systems for maintenance, repair, and the supply of spare parts.

"Every cooling unit installed must be one that works consistently and efficiently,” she said.

The third priority involves strengthening standards, certification, and innovation through institutions such as ACES and the Rwanda Standards Board.

By ensuring that equipment entering the market meets high efficiency and environmental standards, Rwanda can build investor confidence, protect consumers, and accelerate the transition to low-emission cooling technologies in line with the Kigali Amendment.

Arakwiye added that Rwanda is uniquely positioned to become a regional hub for sustainable cooling and cold chain systems, serving not only national needs but also those of the wider East African region.

The two-day conference, she said, aims to catalyse partnerships between governments, investors, and industry to transform challenges into opportunities.

"We must see cold chains not as a cost, but as a strategic investment that delivers economic, social, and environmental returns,” she said.

"Rwanda stands ready to work with all partners to scale solutions, reduce risks, and mobilise investment for sustainable cold-chain systems across the continent.”

She further called for identifying barriers to investment and implementation and proposing concrete solutions that highlight where Rwanda can lead and where partnerships can unlock scale.

Turning into a higher education institution

Professor Toby Peters, Founding Director of ACES, said the centre is in the final stages of applying for accreditation as a higher education institution in Rwanda.

He stressed the importance of prioritising sustainable cooling and resilient cold-chain systems, which are often overlooked despite their critical role in development.

"From my perspective, one of the most vital yet underdeveloped sectors is sustainable cooling and resilient cold-chain systems. They are fundamental for ensuring food security, public health, trade, and economic productivity,” he said.

He described such systems as essential infrastructure.

"This is critical infrastructure, as important as a water pipe or a road. Building sustainable cooling and cold chains is also about unlocking opportunities across society.”

Without effective cold-chain systems, a significant proportion of food never reaches consumers.

"Up to 30 per cent of food can be lost post-harvest, primarily because it is not kept cold,” he said.

The consequences extend far beyond wasted produce. When food spoils, farmers lose income, communities lose nutrition, and entire value chains are disrupted.

"You do not just lose a crop, you lose its value. Farmers lose opportunities, and society loses nutrition,” he said.

The same challenge affects healthcare. Without reliable cooling, life-saving vaccines can be compromised.

"Vaccines can be lost if they are not kept at the correct temperatures,” he noted.

Cooling systems also rely on energy and refrigerants, which, if not properly managed, can contribute to climate change.

Professor Peters said the urgency of addressing cooling and cold-chain challenges has been clearly set at the highest level.

"His Excellency the President has set the challenge, we need to solve cooling and cold-chains, and we need to do it quickly.”

The goal of the partnership is to bring together government, financiers, the private sector, and academia to develop sustainable solutions.

The UK Government has invested over £20 million in ACES’s cooling and cold-chain programme.

"The vision of ACES is rooted in Rwanda, but it is Pan-African. This is about developing solutions and training in Africa, for Africa, not importing them,” he added.

ACES has also signed a memorandum of understanding with agricultural institutions to support rapid and practical responses to cooling priorities.

Enabling the private sector to thrive

Claude Bizimana, Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), said the government is working to create an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.

He explained that Rwanda initially invested in infrastructure such as packhouses and cold-chain facilities to support exports, but the long-term objective is to transition these responsibilities to the private sector.

"Today, we are already seeing private sector participation, such as the operation of a new packhouse in the industrial zone. This is encouraging, as it shows growing investment not only in fresh produce but also in sustainable cooling and cold-chain systems,” he said.

Standards and certification

Jean Pierre Bajeneza, Acting National Certification Division Manager at the Rwanda Standards Board (RSB), said standards are essential for building a safe, reliable, and investable cooling ecosystem.

These standards ensure that cooling equipment, storage systems, and transport infrastructure meet global requirements.

Bajeneza noted that modern standards also incorporate climate considerations, particularly in light of global commitments to net-zero targets.

They apply across food safety, agriculture, logistics, hospitality, and warehousing, ensuring that systems meet temperature, energy, and safety requirements.

He also highlighted RSB’s role in calibration, testing, and certification of equipment and facilities.

A key challenge remains the cost of certification for small and medium-sized enterprises. To address this, the government has reduced certification costs to improve accessibility, particularly for SMEs.

Creating green jobs

Hongepeng Lei, Chief of the Mitigation Branch at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said reducing food loss, strengthening vaccine cold chains, and creating green jobs in rural communities are key priorities.

He emphasised that sustainable cooling presents a significant economic opportunity.

"With up to 50 per cent of post-harvest food loss in sub-Saharan Africa linked to inadequate cold chains, sustainable cooling represents a multi-billion-dollar opportunity,” he said.

UNEP, he added, is committed to supporting greener cooling systems, climate-resilient agriculture, restored ecosystems, and nature-positive economic growth.