African Agrivoltaics Platform Initiative Accelerates Sustainable Growth Across Africa

AAPI leadership reception in Kigali will unite governments, investors, researchers and innovators to accelerate agrivoltaics across Africa.

PHOENIX, AZ, UNITED STATES, August 31, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — African Agrivoltaics Platform Initiative to Convene Leaders in Kigali to Advance Food, Energy and Water Security

Leadership reception during the Africa Food Systems Forum will introduce AAPI to African stakeholders and launch the inaugural African Handbook of Agrivoltaics

The African Agrivoltaics Platform Initiative (AAPI) will bring together government leaders, development partners, investors, researchers and private-sector innovators in Kigali on September 1 for a leadership and networking reception focused on accelerating agrivoltaics across Africa.

Organized by the Consortium for Sustainable Agrivoltaics (C4SA) and AKADEMIYA2063, the event will take place on the margins of the Africa Food Systems Forum and will introduce AAPI’s vision, priorities and growing network of country members and partners. AAPI was established to help overcome barriers to scaling agrivoltaics, the co-location of solar energy generation and agricultural production, across African markets. By bringing together expertise in agriculture, energy, finance, policy and research, the platform aims to help build viable project pipelines while strengthening food security, energy access, water resilience and rural economic development.

The Kigali program will recognize AAPI’s founding country members and partners and introduce its three working groups focused on Evidence & Capacity Building, Finance, and Value Chain Links. A major highlight will be the release of the inaugural ‘African Handbook of Agrivoltaics’, developed by C4SA and its partners as a practical resource for African practitioners.

“Across Africa the constraint on agrivoltaics is rarely the technology: it is the absence of site-specific evidence that a bank can underwrite,” Dual Energy said in a statement. The company said its partnership with C4SA will support AAPI’s goal of creating a bankable project pipeline by determining, site by site, the crop, system geometry and machinery needed to make agrivoltaic projects work effectively.

“Agrivoltaics gives us an opportunity to think about food, energy and water as interconnected systems rather than separate challenges,” said Dr. Cynthia A. Phillips, Founder, Chairman and CEO of 22nd Century by Design Solutions and Co-Founder of WAE Forward. “AAPI can help connect innovation, investment and local capacity to create solutions that strengthen communities and generate lasting economic opportunity.”

“AAPI was created to support African countries and farmers”, said C4SA Founder Chris Hegadorn, “with the goals of advancing food and energy security while conserving water, protecting biodiversity, and reducing dependence on expensive and polluting fossil fuels.”

The reception is supported by 22nd Century by Design Solutions and BioLargo, Inc., whose work includes sustainable technologies and integrated approaches spanning clean energy, water, agriculture and community development.

The AAPI Leadership & Networking Reception will be held Tuesday, September 1, from 18:00–20:00 CAT at the Fairview Building, 5th Floor Balcony, across from the Kigali Convention Centre.

About AAPI
The African Agrivoltaics Platform Initiative is a continental collaboration platform designed to accelerate agrivoltaics development across Africa by strengthening evidence and capacity, mobilizing finance, developing value chains and connecting governments with research, development and private-sector partners.

Dr. Cynthia A. Phillips
22nd Century by Design Solutions, Inc.
+1 602-819-9731
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