There's a moment at most summits when the real work retreats into conference rooms, and everyone else is left outside, waiting for a communiqué. This year, the African Food Systems Forum (AFSF) is trying something different: it's putting the argument for African food systems transformation on a plate, in the open air, for anyone in Kigali to taste through the Africa food festival.

The festival, co-organised by the African Food Fellowship, is not a pleasant sideshow to the serious business happening in the summit halls. It is the clearest expression of the fact that Africa's food systems will not be transformed by policy and capital alone, but by leaders. That leadership shows up in more places than a delegate badge suggests.

The Africa food festival injects a sensory and communal atmosphere into the summit, inviting guests to enjoy street food, live cooking, tastings and music. It provides fertile ground for Africa's food leaders, connecting African food businesses to new markets, investors, and development partners.

More importantly, it is an opportunity for people in Kigali to participate in the AFSF without needing to attend a single meeting. It is open to everyone. Just show up with your family, pay the entrance fee of Rwf 10000, and enjoy the best of African food culture.

Cuisine, culture, and consumption remain underused as drivers of food systems change and expressions of Africa’s soft power. African food connects farmers to markets, carries nutrition into households, and shapes what people choose to eat, yet it is still underrepresented in global gastronomy and weakly linked to the food systems dialogue itself. This festival is a way to bridge that gap.

This year’s AFSF is themed around investing in Africa’s food systems, and this could not be a timelier conversation. On January 1, 2026, the Kampala Declaration of the CAADP kicked off. It commits African governments to an ambitious set of goals for the next decade, including a 45% increase in agrifood output, a 50% cut in post‑harvest losses, a tripling of intra‑African agrifood trade, and a rise in locally processed food to 35% of agrifood GDP.

Achieving this will require a coordinated push from actors across the food system and will depend as much on leadership capacity as on policy and financing. AFSF is providing a platform where these conversations can be pushed beyond narrowly technical solutions to focus on the leaders who are tasked with delivering impact.

At the African Food Fellowship, we deeply believe in the power of people. Our sole mission is to invest in Africa’s leaders because without good leadership we shall not achieve any of the big targets we set for ourselves. And there are leaders in every one of us, so in a sense, we all belong to the Fellowship.

So, whether you’re attending the AFSF as a delegate or you’re in Kigali next week with some time to spare, come to the festival and let’s talk. If we work together, there is still time to build the Africa we want.

The writer is an Executive Director, African Food Fellowship.