Solid'Africa: Farm-to-Fork Nutrition for Rwanda's Hospitals and Schools
- yanabijoor
- Apr 28
- 3 min read
Solid'Africa, founded by Rwandan social entrepreneur Isabelle Kamariza, fights food insecurity by delivering wholesome, affordable food to hospital patients, students, and factory employees.
Through its farm-to-fork model, it offers fresh, locally grown food while investing in sustainable agriculture and nutrition training. Internationally recognized with prestigious awards like the 2024 Waislitz Global Citizen Disruptor Award and the 2024 Elevate Prize, Solid'Africa is disrupting the response to nutrition in hospitals, schools, and factories.
What is the problem?
Rwanda's community health system pays for medical care but not hospital meals. For nearly 30% of Rwandans in poverty who earn less than $2 a day, hospital meals costing $0.80 to $2 are too expensive, leading to malnutrition, impeding healing, and undermining dignity. Similarly, school meals are usually monotonous, revolving around outdated, starch-heavy diets that fall short of nutritional needs.
What is the solution?
Solid'Africa’s industrial kitchen serves 20,000 meals daily to hospitals, schools, and factories at prices ranging from $0.20 to $0.40 per meal. By producing 50% of its fresh produce, it keeps costs low and quality high. Solid'Africa provides free meals to poor patients and subsidized meals to paying patients, reinvesting profits to sustain operations. It is also opening the Institute of Culinary Arts and Nutrition to educate chefs and nutritionists. It partners with Rwanda's Ministry of Education to feed 8,000 students, with plans for a kitchen that produces 100,000 meals per day.
Why is it innovative?
Solid'Africa's farm-to-fork model owns 50% of its supply chain, saving costs and guaranteeing fresh ingredients while utilizing waste to produce fertilizer. Launched in 2025 at Kigali’s CHUK hospital, Rwanda’s first industrial kitchen enables high-volume, low-cost meal production. Nutrition education through the Institute and community programs empowers cooks and patients to prepare balanced, culturally relevant meals. Public-private partnerships with the Ministries of Health and Education integrate its model into public systems, ensuring scalability and sustainability.
What is its impact?
Serving 20,000 daily meals, including to 1,500 hospital patients and 8,000 school children, Solid'Africa has provided over 6 million meals since its inception. Its affordable, nutritious food accelerates patients' recovery and improves their well-being. The company offers jobs through its kitchen and supports 4,500 cooperative farmers, boosting local economies. Transforming eating habits in homes and institutions realizes nutrition security and equity.
What needs to improve?
Competing for talented staff on a tight budget remains an issue, and more funding may be necessary to bring in talent. Procurement must get more streamlined, and digital innovation is needed to enhance scalability. Plans are in place to grow more ingredients regionally, but they require strategy and planning. Relying on traditional donor funding jeopardizes long-term sustainability; therefore, diversifying funding streams will be important.
With ongoing innovation and strategic alliances, Solid'Africa is poised to transform how institutions address nutrition so that no one goes hungry while they heal or learn.
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