LIONESS WEEKENDER COVER STORY
Solid’Africa, creating nutrition security for all by increasing the awareness, affordability, and availability of healthy meals in Rwanda’s vulnerable communities.
Isabelle Kamariza, founder and president of Solid'Africa, is a dedicated leader in addressing Rwanda's nutrition gap. Recognizing nutrition as a fundamental human right, she has developed a holistic approach to nutrition security, focusing on the entire process from farm to fork. By emphasizing local, sustainable agriculture, Isabelle tackles the root causes of nutrition insecurity. Through providing healthy and balanced meals to patients and students, building nutrition awareness, and dedicating efforts to agriculture, she addresses broader nutrition challenges. Isabelle's innovative approach shifts the conversation from food security to nutrition security, aiming to create lasting change in the lives of those most vulnerable. Solid’Africa launched in 2010 and today has created jobs for 211 employees.
Lioness Weekender spoke to the inspirational Isabelle Kamariza about her business, her drive to make an impact on the lives of others, and her ambitions for the future.
What does your company do?
Solid'Africa ensures nutrition security for all by increasing the awareness, affordability, and availability of healthy meals in Rwanda’s most vulnerable communities.
The root causes of nutrition insecurity are complex and interconnected:
- Low incomes: 82% of Rwandans cannot afford a healthy diet.
- Limited access: most public schools and hospitals struggle to provide nutritious meals.
- Limited awareness: Only 17% of respondents in six districts reported knowledge of the daily recommended intake for fruits and vegetables.
At Solid'Africa, we tackle these challenges head-on with a holistic approach:
Farm: Our agricultural production employs innovative farming techniques that improve yield and soil health while reducing environmental impact. Moreover, we collaborate with 4,500 smallholder farmers to source fresh produce, providing them with a reliable market and boosting their household incomes.
Feed: We build and operate clean, efficient, high-volume kitchens to prepare and deliver healthy and balanced meals daily to vulnerable patients in public hospitals, students in public schools, and employees in large companies (factories and more). By ensuring that nutritious food reaches those who need it most, we directly address the issues of access and affordability.
Educate: We provide comprehensive nutrition and dietary education for our beneficiaries and the wider community, empowering individuals to make informed choices about their health. Additionally, we train a new generation of nutrition-conscious chefs and cooks to operate Solid'Africa's kitchens and drive transformation within the hospitality industry.
What inspired you to start your company?
During my studies in Belgium, I reconsidered my path in Law and put my studies on pause. I ultimately turned to the bible to reflect on my calling. Upon returning to Rwanda, I joined a prayer group where I met Mama Zouzou who once said, "If you want to make a difference, don't just pray – act". She took me to Kigali’s biggest public hospital, where she fed one person every day. I quickly realized the gravity of the situation; while Rwanda has universal healthcare, hospital meals are not included, leaving thousands of vulnerable patients without access to food. We spent hours talking to patients to understand their needs, began feeding five patients every day, and raised awareness among friends.
Many believe that change requires grand gestures, detailed plans, and ample funds. However, I believe change is built and sustained through small, intentional steps. When combined, these efforts can challenge the status quo and transform society for the better.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
Globally, around 42% of the population cannot afford a healthy diet which costs $3.66 per day on average. In Rwanda, where 4 million people earn less than $2 a day, and hospital meals represent 40% to 75% of their daily income, nutritious food is inaccessible for those who need it most. At Solid'Africa, our holistic farm-to-fork approach covers the entire value chain, enabling us to provide three free medically tailored nutritious meals daily to 1,500 patients.
Recognizing that achieving nutrition security begins with sustainable agriculture, our Solid’Africa farm, along with collaborations with local cooperatives and 4,500 smallholder farmers, ensures a consistent supply of fresh, high-quality produce while boosting household incomes.
What truly sets Solid’Africa apart is our innovative semi-automated kitchen—the first of its kind in Rwanda. Operated by just 15 cooks, the kitchen produces an average of 13,000 high-quality, nutritious meals every day.
Tell us a little about your team:
At Solid'Africa, we have built a workforce that mirrors our beneficiaries’ demographics, fostering deep connections and a strong understanding of their challenges.
60% of our employees come from low-income backgrounds within Rwanda and have used public healthcare system, driving our commitment to improving access to quality healthcare and nutrition.
We are proud that 52% of our workforce are women. By prioritizing the hiring of mothers and women, we not only create opportunities for economic empowerment but also design our programs with a deep understanding of the unique challenges faced by women in our communities. This is reflected in the fact that 70% of our beneficiaries are women.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
Having returned to Rwanda in 1994, after the Genocide Against the Tutsi, I felt a duty to contribute to rebuilding our country. We had not come to live in heaven; we came to build it, and taking part in building it is our collective duty. We are fortunate to have a government that encourages its citizens, particularly the youth, to drive change. This supportive environment, as well as my entrepreneurial mother, fostered my entrepreneurial spirit.
My entrepreneurial journey began in 2010, when I founded Solid’Africa at the age of 25. What initially started as an initiative to provide meals to five patients has grown into a movement that now produces over 10,000 meals per day, collaborating with 4,500 farmers. From 2010 to 2018, my friends and I prepared meals from our own homes, serving 400 patients. The power of this collective effort and pooling of resources showed us that even with the little we had, our intended impact seemed achievable.
In 2018, we received a grant from the Imbuto Foundation and the King Mohammed VI Foundation to construct an industrial kitchen. The government also generously provided us with land to cultivate our own food. Thanks to this kitchen, we were able to expand our reach from feeding 400 patients to 1,000 within weeks. To date, we have provided over 7,000,000 nutritious meals to more than 600,000 patients in public hospitals.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
Over the next 5 years, we plan to scale up our operations to deliver nutritious meals to patients in all 47 public hospitals in Rwanda, through a recently signed Partnership with the Government. Additionally, we are collaborating with the Ministry of Education to enhance the existing school feeding program.
We have also identified a lack of nutritional education as one of the challenges to addressing nutrition insecurity, with 76% of hospitality graduates lacking nutrition knowledge. To address this, Solid'Africa is launching the Institute of Culinary Arts and Nutrition (ICAN) in January 2025.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
As an entrepreneur, satisfaction comes from the power we have as individuals to tackle challenges and solve problems. It's not just about the overall impact, but about breaking down each challenge into manageable parts and showing up every day to make a difference, even if it means addressing one aspect at a time. The drive comes from knowing that if we haven’t reached the level of what’s required, there is still more work to be done.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Always remember who you do it for; let your impact be your driving force. Keep the faces of those you aim to serve at the forefront of your mind, as their needs will inspire your innovation and determination, through the challenges of entrepreneurship.
- Surround yourself with people who challenge you. They will help you grow and strengthen your product, initiative, or service by testing and questioning it. Building confidence in what you’re creating and developing a strong organization is essential.
- Not all money is good money. When starting out, conduct due diligence on potential funders to ensure they share your interests and values. Choosing the right partners is crucial, as misaligned interests can lead to consequences in the long-term.
To learn more about the work of Solid’Africa, contact Isabelle via email: isabelle@solidafrica.org or visit the website and social media platforms:
Website: http://ww.solidafrica.org/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/solidafrica.rw/
Twitter: https://x.com/SolidAfrica
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/solidafrica/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0ofFOeAx9g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCllHbKvUxs
