The local non-profit organisation Solid’Africa opened for the first time its Community Benefit Company (CBC) which has been dubbed ‘Solid’Africa CBC’.

The new initiative was launched on Monday, July 19.

It is the first of its kind organisation to have a status of Community Benefit Company in Rwanda, according to a statement.

Solid’Africa CBC is expected to facilitate income-generating activities that will sustain and advance the core action of feeding the socially and economically vulnerable patients in public hospitals.

"Thanks to this boost, we anticipate a significant increase in our reach to district hospitals in Rwanda in the near future,” said Isabelle Kamariza, founder and president of Solid’Africa.

"We are so grateful to our partners, and especially to the Rwanda Development Board for acknowledging us as a community benefit company,” she added.

This comes in addition to other community-oriented initiatives of the parent organisation such as providing meals for Covid-19 patients in Nyarugenge District Hospital, Kanyinya Health Centre as well as Gatsata and Gatenga health centres.

Solid’Africa has been operating in Rwanda since 2010 with a mission to preserve dignity, accelerate the recovery process, and promote health equity for socially and economically vulnerable patients in public hospitals.

With its Gemura initiative, it has been feeding 400 patients from low-income backgrounds daily in 2020, and this was scaled up by nearly two-fold to 995 patients in July 2021.

Solid'Africa has built an industrial kitchen and completed in December 2019 in partnership with Imbuto Foundation and King Mohamed VI Foundation for Sustainable Development. The Mike Stenbock Gemura Kitchen has a capacity of 15,000 meals a day.

The organisation also has the Kiza Project that assists financially challenged patients by paying for medicines not covered under the Community Based Health Insurance Mutuelle de Sante from private pharmacies.

It also provides fundraising support for patients that need specialist’s treatment.

The impact of social benefits generated by the initiatives is 1:15 Social Return on Investment.