AFSF 2026: Kagame Urges Young African Agri-Entrepreneurs to Turn Ambition into Action
KIGALI, RWANDA — September 3, 2026 — President Paul Kagame has challenged young African entrepreneurs in agriculture to move beyond ideas and inspiration and focus on turning their ambitions into concrete action.
Speaking during the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) 2026 in Kigali on Thursday, Kagame said the success of Africa’s transformation would ultimately depend on what people do with the knowledge, opportunities and inspiration available to them.
His remarks came during an exchange with Lydia Murekatete, co-founder of All Greens, a youth-led agricultural enterprise that is building a business around climate-resilient food production and market access.
Murekatete used the conversation to reflect on Rwanda’s approach to youth inclusion and the environment that has enabled young entrepreneurs to participate in the country’s development.
She praised Kagame’s leadership for creating an environment that, in her view, gives young people space to contribute to Rwanda’s transformation.
She also highlighted All Greens’ work using climate-controlled greenhouses to produce food while reducing exposure to increasingly unpredictable weather conditions.
The company combines its own retail outlets with direct supply to businesses and has provided market access to more than 200 local farmers, according to Murekatete.
For Kagame, however, the bigger question facing young Africans is not simply whether they have ideas or access to inspiration.
It is whether they are prepared to act.
‘The test is in doing things’
Responding to Murekatete’s question about the lessons from Rwanda’s development journey, Kagame emphasized the importance of execution.
“It’s one thing to think about things and even be inspired,” he said. “Finally the test is in doing things.”
He urged young people to examine what they do with the knowledge and inspiration they gain from conferences, leaders and their surroundings.
“What do you do with the knowledge? What do you do with inspiration? What do you do with really understanding the world around you?” Kagame asked.
The President said ideas alone cannot deliver transformation unless they are followed by action and attention to detail.
“The devil is always going to be in the details,” he said.
His message comes at a time when African countries are under growing pressure to transform agriculture, create jobs for a rapidly expanding young population and strengthen food security while adapting to climate change.
Leadership starts with the individual
Kagame also challenged the idea that leadership is reserved for people who hold formal positions or titles.
He argued that every individual has the potential to become a leader.
“Everybody has the capacity, has the possibility to be a leader,” he said.
For young entrepreneurs, he suggested that leadership should begin with taking responsibility for the problems within their immediate environment rather than waiting for someone else to provide solutions.
The President also encouraged young people to look inward and assess themselves before attempting to tackle larger challenges.
He described self-reflection as an opportunity to identify personal weaknesses, learn from experience and determine what needs to be prioritized.
“You have to have a conversation with yourself,” he said, emphasizing the importance of understanding one’s own limitations and strengths.
From the ‘daily hustle’ to bigger challenges
Kagame said developing this discipline early can help young people build the resilience needed to take on increasingly complex challenges.
For entrepreneurs working in agriculture, that resilience can be particularly important.
Building successful food businesses in Africa often requires navigating challenges ranging from access to finance and markets to infrastructure, technology, climate risks and consumer demand.
The President’s message was therefore less about waiting for perfect conditions and more about starting with what is available and steadily building from there.
He encouraged young Africans to begin developing their leadership capacity at an early stage rather than waiting until they reach senior positions.
Youth at the centre of Africa’s food future
The conversation reflected one of the central questions facing the continent’s food systems: how to convert Africa’s large youth population into a productive force capable of driving agricultural transformation.
Businesses such as All Greens demonstrate how young entrepreneurs can combine technology, farming and market development to address food-system challenges while creating opportunities for other farmers.
But Kagame’s message was that innovation must ultimately be accompanied by execution.
Africa does not lack ambitious ideas. The challenge is turning those ideas into businesses, jobs, food and lasting solutions.
As thousands of stakeholders gathered in Kigali for AFSF 2026, the President’s message to the continent’s young entrepreneurs was straightforward: inspiration is only the beginning. The real test is what you do with it.
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