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Egerton University to Participate in the 21st RUFORUM Annual General Meeting in Gaborone, Botswana
Egerton University led by its Vice Chancellor, Prof. Isaac O. Kibwage, will participate in the 21st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), scheduled to take place from 1st to 5th December 2025 in Gaborone, Botswana. Egerton University is among the institutions across Africa implementing the TAGDev 2.0 Program. The AGM is one of the most influential high-level meetings in Africa’s higher education and agricultural innovation calendar, bringing together over 500 participants, including university leaders, policymakers, development partners, private sector actors, researchers, young innovators, and students from across Africa and around the world.
RUFORUM is a continental network comprising 175 member universities in 40 African countries. Founded in 2004 by 10 pioneering universities in Eastern and Southern Africa, the network’s mission is to strengthen the capacity of universities to produce high-quality graduates, conduct demand-driven research, and generate innovations that transform Africa’s agri-food systems and improve livelihoods. RUFORUM plays a crucial role in connecting universities, governments, and development partners to advance science-led solutions that support inclusive and sustainable development on the continent.
TAGDev 2.0 is a 10-year collaborative initiative (2023–2033) between RUFORUM, Mastercard Foundation, 12 African universities, and GCHERA. Egerton University implements the program through the TAGDev2.0 program Agrifood Systems and Entrepreneurship Consortium (ASEC) Project, which partners with 3 universities and 3 TVETs to skill young people and strengthen smallholder farmers’ adaptive capacities. The project aims to create jobs for youth, promote climate-smart agriculture, and enhance food and nutritional security. Key targets include 25,000 youth in employment, 75 startups, 950,000 trees planted, 68,500 farmers reached with adaptive innovations, 15 climate-smart TIMPs developed, and 6 farmers’ cooperatives strengthened across Kenya.
This year’s AGM will be held under the theme “Positioning Africa’s Universities and the Higher Education Sector to Effectively Impact Development Processes on the Continent.” The meeting will provide a platform for dialogue, learning, and partnership building, focusing on how higher education institutions can accelerate Africa’s growth and resilience through innovation, research, and community engagement. The AGM will focus on four subthemes:
- Strategic partnerships for growth: Building bridges for the future
- Science for development: Generating contemporary and relevant solutions at
scale - Capacity sharing to train the next generation of leaders in agri-food systems
transformation - RUFORUM Governance Meetings
The five-day event will feature high-level plenary sessions, policy dialogues, exhibitions, and side events showcasing innovative research and transformative initiatives from universities across Africa. It will also include the Vice Chancellors’ Forum, the TAGDev Partnership Council meeting, and interactive networking sessions designed to strengthen collaboration among academia, industry, and communities.
Egerton University’s participation through the TAGDev 2.0 Program affirms its ongoing commitment to transforming higher education into a driver of practical solutions for agriculture and rural development. During the AGM, Egerton will share experiences and success stories from its students, alumni, and community enterprises, reflecting the impact of the TAGDev model in empowering youth and promoting entrepreneurship in agri-food systems. Through this engagement, the University aims to build new partnerships, contribute to policy discussions, and amplify its role in Africa’s agricultural transformation agenda.
