New food innovation platform to launch with $20m funding ambition

Rwanda’s new food innovation platform will be launched next month with an ambition to mobilise up to $20 million to support innovators and attract food technology investment into the country. Rwanda Food Innovation Partnership (RFIP) will serve as the implementation vehicle for the Rwanda Food Innovation Ecosystem Strategy 2026–2035, according to Solange Uwituze, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources. ALSO READ: Agric minister explains plan to fast-track food innovation drive The partnership will be launched during the Africa Food Systems Forum due in Kigali from September 1-4. Unlike a conventional research institution, the Rwanda Food Innovation Partnership will operate as a coordination platform linking food innovators to financing, research expertise, technology-transfer opportunities, regulatory support and skills. It will also provide a single-entry point for innovators seeking support, with the platform expected to screen and refer applications to relevant institutions within days. ALSO READ: Innovation: New strategy eyes 30,000 jobs for youth in food system by 2035 “The initiative will help create a more direct route for food innovations from development to commercialisation,” Uwituze said in an interview with The New Times. “The food innovation hub will serve as a platform that develops, tests, and commercializes food innovations.” The initiative has received an initial $690,000 from the Gates Foundation for its incubation phase, with the funding expected to help unlock an additional $15 million to $20 million from the foundation and other partners. It will be under the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), where it will initially operate as a secretariat of about 10 staff, supported by seconded personnel. Uwituze said the partnership will work through existing government institutions rather than create another layer of agencies. “This is not another research institute or another implementing agency,” she said. Instead, she said, RFIP will coordinate support across institutions responsible for regulation, research, investment, technology transfer and skills. Rwanda Standards Board and Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority will continue handling standards, regulation and approvals, while Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) will provide research and field-trial support. Rwanda Development Board (RDB) will support investment facilitation and partnership arrangements. The platform will be overseen by a founding Intergovernmental Steering Committee comprising officials from MINAGRI, the Ministry of ICT and Innovation, RDB and other relevant institutions. A Technical Committee bringing together focal points from ministries and agencies involved in the strategy will also be established. For international companies, Uwituze said RFIP will provide a structured route to pilot technologies in Rwanda, including a designated contact at RDB and access to field-trial facilities at RAB research stations. For local innovators, a Venture and SME Accelerator will work with accelerator programmes and venture studios to help businesses move from prototypes to commercial products, including through funding for innovation challenges. Uwituze said another programme will focus on developing the skills needed to support food innovation through TVET reform, technology-transfer offices, research and development infrastructure and secondment programmes. A Policy and Regulatory Accelerator will also help companies and innovators obtain regulatory guidance without having to navigate multiple institutions separately. Explaining the broader purpose of the initiative, Uwituze said the Food Innovation Hub will serve as a platform that develops, tests, and commercializes food innovations. The programmes are expected to begin in the late 2026, following the September launch. The first phase will run from 2026 to 2027, during which the secretariat, steering structures and partnerships will be established. RFIP will also hold “Meet the RFIP” sessions after the launch to introduce its programmes to potential partners in Rwanda and abroad. From 2028, RFIP is expected to progressively transition into a standalone entity with its own legal personality, board of directors and self-sustaining financing model. The platform will focus on modern production technologies, value-chain strengthening, protein diversification, and nutrition, health and food biotechnology.

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New food innovation platform to launch with $20m funding ambition