In a world grappling with food insecurity, vaccine preservation challenges, and rising temperatures, Rwanda is positioning itself as a continental leader in sustainable cooling innovation.
From solar-powered cold rooms in rural cooperatives to a global festival celebrating cold-chain technology, the country is demonstrating how climate-smart solutions can save both food and lives.
This October, Kigali hosted the Festival of Cooling, the world’s first international event dedicated entirely to sustainable cooling and cold-chain innovation.
Held at the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-Chain (ACES) in Rubirizi, the week-long exhibition brought together farmers, scientists, innovators, and policymakers from around the world to showcase technologies that are quietly revolutionizing how communities preserve their harvests and protect their health.
For many, cooling remains an invisible yet essential service that underpins modern life, keeping food fresh, vaccines potent, and supply chains stable. But in Africa, where post-harvest food losses can reach up to 40 percent, its absence is acutely felt.
In Rwanda alone, the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) estimates that around 13 percent of all food is lost before reaching markets, undermining both food security and farmer incomes.
“We still have a long way to go in preserving what we harvest, especially fruits and vegetables that must always stay fresh,” said Dr. Solange Uwamahoro, Deputy Director General in charge of Agriculture at RAB.
“The technology we are seeing here offers a sustainable solution that will reduce post-harvest losses in line with the government’s five-year plan and the agricultural transformation program known as PSTA5,” she added.
Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation (NST2) targets a reduction in post-harvest losses in key staple crops from 13.8 percent in 2023 to 8 percent by 2029. Achieving this requires innovation, and ACES, supported by international partners, is offering exactly that.
The center serves as both a research hub and a training ground, equipping technicians, farmers, and entrepreneurs with skills to install and maintain sustainable refrigeration systems.
Among the innovations showcased were solar-powered cold rooms developed by local clean-energy firm Munyax-Eco. Designed for smallholder farmers, each unit maintains an optimal temperature of +4°C and can store up to five metric tons of produce.
“We’ve already installed systems in Bugesera, Kamonyi, and Nyamagabe. These solutions are mobile, cost-saving, and perfect for rural farmers who face high electricity tariffs,” said Claudine Uwineza, sales and marketing coordinator at Munyax-Eco.
The company has also developed solar freezers of various sizes to serve small-scale traders and cooperatives, a move that aligns with the government’s broader push for renewable energy adoption in agriculture.
“Given the new electricity tariffs in rural areas, now is the right time to invest in solar energy. Solar solutions offer both economic and environmental benefits,” Uwineza added.
But Rwanda’s cold-chain ambitions extend far beyond agriculture. At ACES, cooling is also being harnessed to safeguard public health. According to Jean Pierre Musabyimana, Director of One Health at ACES, between 25 and 50 percent of vaccines globally lose potency due to broken cold chains.
“When vaccines lose efficacy, it’s not just waste, it’s people’s lives. We’re working on improving cooling systems and using innovations like drones to transport vaccines efficiently,” he said.
In partnership with organizations such as Zipline, Rwanda is already using drones to deliver temperature-sensitive medical supplies to remote areas. These efforts have proven particularly crucial in ensuring the safe delivery of genetic and mRNA vaccines, which require ultra-low temperatures as low as –70°C.
ACES is also leading training on green refrigerants such as hydrocarbons (HCs), ammonia, and carbon dioxide, environmentally friendly alternatives to the harmful cooling gases historically used in refrigerators and air conditioners.
“Effective cooling requires technical knowledge to ensure efficiency and safety,” explained Prof. Toby Peters, Founding Director of ACES and Professor of Cold Economy at the University of Birmingham.
“We’re trying to make cooling less invisible. People don’t realize how critical it is. Our food, our medicines, even our mobile networks depend on it,” he added.
Peters argues that the cold chain should be viewed as critical infrastructure, on par with electricity grids and water systems. “We’re losing 37 percent of food, and that’s not just waste. That’s economic value, investment, and people’s livelihoods. The cold chain is as essential as a water pipe or an electricity cable,” he noted.
The Festival of Cooling highlighted the urgent need to make cooling inclusive, affordable, and climate-resilient. Rwanda’s Vision 2050, which aims to transform the nation into a high-income economy, places sustainability at its core, and cooling technology has emerged as an unexpected yet vital enabler of that vision.
