ULALO is here. A community that needed no direction. A story that was always worth telling. Watch now: vimeo.com/1175553598 #UlaloFilm 🎥: Directed by Isaac Oboth of African Storytellers 📷: Robb Hohmann

Fika Rwanda recently brought together five shortlisted private contractors ahead of launching its Trail Cable Bridge Contractor training program, strengthening local capacity to deliver rural bridge infrastructure. Following the training, Fika will pilot a private sector-led delivery model while supporting locally trained contractors through technical mentoring and coaching. We look forward to this exciting next chapter in Rwanda’s rural transport journey, and to the lasting impact these partnerships will bring to communities across the country.

A mill is only as useful as the road that leads to it. Rural women’s economic lives depend on entire transport networks: The path from the farm, the bridge over the river, the feeder road to the market. If one link breaks, the whole system fails. Prioritizing rural planning creates endless opportunities for women around the world #InternationalDayofRuralWomen 📷: Luke Katemba

In 2025, over 1.7 million people gained safer ways to reach school, healthcare, and home across 7 countries and 140 bridges. Our 2025 Annual Report is live, and it's the story of what happens when communities, governments, and partners believe safe access is a right, not a privilege. 👉 Read it here: fika.org/2025-annual-report/

"Now it takes 30 minutes by motorcycle instead of 4 hours on foot." That's what one new bridge meant for a mother in Uganda this year. Her story, and dozens more from Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Zambia, are in our 2025 Annual Report, out now. 📖 Read Here: fika.org/2025-annual-report/ Photo Credit: Robb Hohmann

Join us for a Rural Access Happy Hour bringing together people working across government, philanthropy, infrastructure, climate, health, finance, and technology. Backstage | 105 W. 55th St, New York, NY UNGA / Climate Week NYC Come grab a drink and connect with us: luma.com/hltjt1x8 #UNGA #ClimateWeekNYC #RuralAccess #Infrastructure #GlobalDevelopment #Networking #Fika

During #UNGA and #ClimateWeekNYC , Fika and Common Space are bringing together leaders across development, technology, climate, and infrastructure to explore a simple but important question: How can we make rural isolation visible and actionable? Tuesday, September 22nd at 3pm 1345 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 2302, New York, NY Register Here: luma.com/a8tekwvf #UNGA #ClimateWeekNYC #RuralAccess #DigitalInnovation #ClimateResilience #Infrastructure #Fika #SDGs

As part of The Sidebar during #UNGA, Fika will convene a small listening session to explore an often-overlooked dimension of health systems strengthening: physical access to care. Tuesday, September 22nd at 11am 134 W. 29th Street, 2nd Floor, New York City Register here to join the conversation: luma.com/fkbu4j6x #UNGA #GlobalHealth #HealthSystems #RuralHealth #RuralAccess #HealthEquity #Fika #SDGs

What changes when a river stops being the barrier. Swipe through, then read the full story. 👉 npr.org/2026/08/29/nx-s1-592…

A single bridge over the Mukungwa river. For one grandmother in the valley, that's simpler than it sounds. It's the walk she can now make herself to see her grandchildren, instead of waiting on the riverbank for someone to bring her food. Read what changed, and why it matters beyond this one valley. 👉 npr.org/2026/08/29/nx-s1-592…

Fika Ethiopia's knowledge exchange with Rwanda took government delegates through bridge sites and warehouse demos and explored best practices in QA/QC, importation, and materials handling. The workshop closed with a clear action plan for implementation in Ethiopia. A strong step for supply chain strategy, institutional collaboration, and peer learning across country programs!

Fika Collect is now live nationally in Ethiopia! Following successful rollout training, regional technical teams across five regions (Amhara, Oromia, South Ethiopia, Central Ethiopia, and Sidama) are now leading implementation, with bridge requests already flowing through the platform to inform local investment decisions. Congrats to the teams, @Helvetas, and all partners driving this locally led work forward.

Last week, government representatives gathered for a two-day Intra-Governmental Roundtable on Rural Transport Infrastructure, convened by MLGRD in partnership with Fika Zambia. Institutions spanning finance, engineering, disaster response and local government explored ways to strengthen coordination on climate-resilient infrastructure, financing and shared standards. Thank you to all partners for advancing rural connectivity as a national priority.

Pan-African Women’s Day honors the women who have shaped this continent’s story in every place where dignity had to be fought for and defended. That fight continues in something as basic as a safe way to get where you need to go. We believe that access isn’t a reward for geographic luck. The right to move freely and safely through the world belongs to every woman, everywhere.

Our goal has always been to close the rural access gap, but along the way, we hit a scaling bottleneck that no existing tool could solve. What followed was six years of building, testing, funding, and learning. Case at DUKE spent months documenting the decisions behind that journey, from build vs. buy to governance to what mission-aligned technical talent actually looks like in practice. If you're interested in learning more about the intersection of AI and social impact, this is worth a read. 👉 fika.org/wp-content/uploads/…

Rural communities have long been invisible in global datasets. And you can't build infrastructure for communities that don't exist on a map. That's the data equity problem at the heart of our AI work and the reason we built Fika Digital from the ground up rather than relying on tools that were never designed with rural populations in mind. Case at Duke documented our journey in their Managing AI for Impact series. 👉 Read more fika.org/wp-content/uploads/…

The impact of rural infrastructure has been underestimated for too long, and this referee has seen enough. 🟥 Swipe through the takes we keep hearing, then watch “The Pitch Is Waiting” ( 👉 vimeo.com/1208151146?fl=pl&f…) to see what investing in the first mile actually changes.