African Food Fellowship and Small Foundation: Strengthening food systems leadership in East Africa

Small Foundation is excited to announce a new strategic partnership with the African Food Fellowship to expand the remit of its Food Systems Leaders Network.  

The African Food Fellowship’s mission is to catalyse new forms of food systems leadership in the region, anchored around its Food Systems Leadership Programme. The fellowship connects food systems leaders in Africa to build relationships with peers and gain essential knowledge and leadership skills. 

Over the coming three years, our partnership will focus on strengthening the network approach for both the Rwanda and Kenya chapters of the Food Systems Leaders Network. Small Foundation and the African Food Fellowship believe networks are effective means to enable collective action and navigate complexity, and together we hope to curate an enabling ecosystem for fellows to transform food systems in Rwanda and Kenya. 

By bringing together leaders and fostering a food systems mindset, we believe the network will play a catalytic role to shift policies, power dynamics, investments and incentives towards more equitable, sustainable and healthy food systems in Africa. 

Reflecting on the new partnership, Alex Rees, Deputy Director of the of the African Food Fellowship Secretariat and Managing Director of Wasafiri said, “We are thrilled to partner with Small Foundation to supercharge the African Food Fellowship and join a broader ecosystem of network practitioners.” 

The African Food Fellowship is currently open for applications for its fourth cohort of fellows. In Kenya applicants must be engaged in agri-finance, aquaculture, or horticulture; and in Rwanda access to nutritious foods, sustainable land use, or food technology and trade. Visit their website for more information.  

The African Food Fellowship is a joint initiative of Wageningen University & Research and Wasafiri Consulting, seeded by IKEA Foundation.