Strengthening relationships with our partner networks in Rwanda and Uganda
As part of Small Foundation’s network portfolio, we support the Uganda Agribusiness Alliance and the African Food Fellowship. Further to recent meetings with these partners in Uganda and Rwanda, we are pleased to share Small Foundation’s Network Analyst Aoife Kenna’s reflections on witnessing first-hand the work and impact of the networks we support.
Seeing our partners in person allows us to strengthen relationships beyond what is possible during virtual meetings. It enables us to better understand their work and create space for more meaningful conversations. Most importantly, connecting in person builds trust, an essential foundation for long-term, collaborative relationships.
In Uganda, we joined a monthly onion and garlic value chain platform meeting hosted by the Uganda Agribusiness Alliance. These meetings bring together key stakeholders from across the value chains, from smallholder and commercial farmers to processors and vendors. This exemplifies Small Foundation’s work across our second system entry point, “connected, transparent and learning ecosystems,” where we see network as tools for engaging with complex problems that no individual organisation can solve.
Through a network approach, we believe that connecting and coordinating will result in collaborating for impact and systems change. The monthly convenings build connections between participants, who work together to identify required changes and solutions for better-connected value chains. Although early in its development, the onion and garlic value chain platform typifies how a network approach can be effective in creating collective impact. We are encouraged by the level of engagement we saw and excited to watch the platform evolve.
In Rwanda, we met with fellows of the African Food Fellowship, who shared their experience of participation in the fellowship and the actions they have collaboratively advanced across the Rwandan chapter’s three impact areas. In these conversations, fellows articulated the value of applying a food systems approach and the lasting connections formed through participation in the fellowship.
This speaks to Small Foundation’s work across our third system entry point, ‘changing patterns of empowerment and agency’, where we look to leverage African capital and expertise in advancing the needs of MSME ecosystems. We see the application of systems change practices as a critical element of this work. These meetings reminded us of how impactful initiatives like the African Food Fellowship can be, and how this impact can be deepened and multiplied through a network approach such as they have established in both Kenya and Rwanda.
We appreciate our partners taking the time to meet with us, to deepen our engagement and strengthen these partnerships into the future.
