Efficiency for Access at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026: Key Takeaways

Energy Saving Trust, co-secretariat of Efficiency for Access, joined global leaders in Kigali, Rwanda, for the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) from 31 August – 4 September 2026. Under the theme “Investing in Africa’s Agri-Food Systems”, the Forum brought together stakeholders from across the continent to discuss the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of African agriculture.

We attended once more as a co-founding member of the Agri-Energy Coalition, continuing efforts to strengthen collaboration between the energy, water, agriculture and nutrition (EWAN) sectors. Reflecting on the discussions throughout the week, five key themes stood out.

1. Energy should be viewed as an enabler of agricultural development, not an end in itself. 

One of the most striking observations was how the conversation has evolved in just two years. When we first attended the Forum, there was almost no mention of energy on the agenda and very little representation from the energy sector. Last year at the AFSF 2025 in Dakar, Senegal, we formally launched the Agri-Energy Coalition. This year, renewable energy was truly embedded in the forum. It was one of the main thematic areas, with high-level sessions bringing together ministries, senior World Bank representatives and other high-level stakeholders to discuss the importance of the EWAN nexus.

At the same time, the Forum served as a reminder that energy is only one piece of a much larger puzzle. Many of the challenges facing smallholder farmers relate to issues such as access to agricultural inputs, market linkages, transport infrastructure and climate-smart solutions.

While renewable energy solutions can help address many of these challenges, the energy sector must continue listening to and learning from agricultural stakeholders to ensure solutions respond to farmers’ broader needs.

This was reflected throughout AFSF, where discussions converged around farmer needs, market access and livelihoods, rather than technology alone.

2. Investment readiness remains a major challenge

Across the sessions, a recurring message was that businesses don’t necessarily face a dearth of available capital. Rather, they often struggle to meet stringent requirements from investors.

In the sessions ‘Strengthening Financial Systems for SMEs and Startups’ and ‘From Research to Impact: Scaling Innovation for Climate-Smart Agri-Food Systems’, speakers repeatedly highlighted the importance of financial management systems, strong business models, organisational capacity, and clear value propositions.

The lesson was clear: investment readiness is a long-term process. Building the systems, governance and capabilities that investors require cannot be left until fundraising begins. Financial education also emerged as a critical priority, with speakers calling for stakeholders to help entrepreneurs better understand available financing options and access the right financial instruments to support growth.

This was a key focus of the Deal Room hosted by Welthungerhilfe (WHH), a member of the Agri-Energy Coalition, who supported many of our grantees to be showcased in the Deal Book and pitch their businesses to impact investors.

This finding reflects the conclusions of our recent report, Scaling Potential: Strengthening Early-Stage Support for PURE Companies, which identified investment readiness support as a critical factor in helping productive use of renewable energy businesses access growth capital.

3. Capacity building is essential for scale

Whether discussing certification, climate-smart agriculture, technology adoption or access to markets, the importance of capacity building was consistently emphasised.

For smallholder farmers in particular, standards and certification requirements can present significant barriers. Many participants highlighted the need for sustained technical support, farmer training and peer-to-peer learning approaches.

The emphasis placed on peer-to-peer learning strongly echoed experiences from Efficiency for Access Research and Development Fund and the PURE Distribution Innovation Lab grantees, where participants consistently identified exchanging lessons with their peers as one of the most valuable aspects of programme engagement.

4. Scaling innovation requires an ecosystem approach

A particularly interesting discussion focused on the journey from research to impact. Participating companies stressed that successful innovation requires more than simply proving that a technology works. To scale successfully, innovations must be designed for the local context, create clear incentives for farmers, enhance livelihoods, and operate within an appropriate policy and market environment.

This reinforces the importance of ecosystem approaches that strengthen the wider conditions needed for scale. Through initiatives such as the Kenya Cold Chain Accelerator, Energy Saving Trust is supporting efforts to address systemic barriers and strengthen the enabling environment for sustainable cold chain development.

5. Collaboration is crucial

Perhaps the most encouraging takeaway from the Forum was the consensus that stronger collaboration between the EWAN sectors is essential. A recurring message throughout the week was that meaningful solutions must be developed with those most affected by them, including younger generations such as the innovators from the Efficiency for Access Design Challenge Accelerator programme. As one speaker put it, “No decisions should be made about young people without young people.”

We need to move beyond partners continually agreeing that the agri-energy nexus matters, towards actually designing programmes together, aligning capital, sharing data and infrastructure, and creating the partnerships that allow solutions to scale.

The Agri-Energy Coalition continues to play an important role in driving this agenda forward. Interest in the Coalition was evident not only during official Forum sessions and panels, which we actively participated in, but also through the many visits to the booth and informal networking opportunities, including a reception hosted at Practical Action’s Kigali office with support from Energy Saving Trust, on behalf of the Coalition, and the Power for Food Partnership.

Looking ahead

The Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 demonstrated that the agriculture-energy nexus is now firmly part of the conversation around food systems transformation. The challenge ahead is ensuring that this growing recognition translates into stronger partnerships, smarter investments and coordinated action that improves outcomes for smallholder farmers across Africa.

For Energy Saving Trust, the Forum reinforced the importance of continued collaboration across sectors to unlock the full potential of renewable energy in building more productive, resilient and sustainable food systems.