KIGALI — As Africa accelerates its journey toward harnessing a projected $50 billion to $100+ billion carbon market opportunity by 2030, local leadership and high-integrity execution remain critical. Representing grassroots empowerment, a delegation from Association Rwandaise pour le Développement Endogène (ARDE/KUBAHO) actively participated in the Carbon Markets Africa Summit (CMAS 2026) held from October 13 to 15, 2026, at the Kigali Convention Centre.
Bringing together over 500 delegates, ministers, project developers, and international financial institutions from more than 45 countries, CMAS 2026 focused heavily on translating potential into concrete delivery, moving from policy frameworks to bankable carbon projects. For ARDE/KUBAHO, the summit served as an invaluable platform to showcase ongoing grassroots climate initiatives, deepen institutional understanding of evolving carbon markets, and forge strategic partnerships for future green investments.
Louis KANYAMUHANDA, ARDE/KUBAHO delegate at the CMAS 2026
Active Participation and Representation at CMAS 2026
ARDE/KUBAHO’s presence at the CMAS 2026 underscored the vital role that national NGOs play in bridging macro-level climate finance and grassroots execution. Throughout the conference, our team joined important talks on how countries can trade carbon credits fairly, how national governments approve these climate projects, and how to use clear, trustworthy systems to accurately measure and prove the amount of carbon being reduced.
By actively participating in regional deal rooms, technical panels, and networking sessions, ARDE/KUBAHO positioned its community-centered interventions as prime examples of high-integrity, scalable climate actions capable of attracting long-term carbon finance.
The CMAS 2026 Summit in Kigali Convention Centre
Grounded in Impact: Showcasing Proven Carbon-Reduction Pathways
ARDE/KUBAHO’s engagement at CMAS 2026 was anchored by its strong, demonstrated portfolio in sustainable water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), gender empowerment, and environmental protection.
- Borehole Rehabilitation Initiative (Ruhango and Kamonyi)
Started in 2021 under the Gold Standard framework in collaboration with Guangzhou Iceberg Environmental Consulting Services Co., Ltd., this transformative 15-year initiative has successfully revitalized and maintained more than 100 boreholes in Southern part of Rwanda, easing daily water collection burdens and cutting reliance on unsafe water sources.
- Emissions Reductions: By maintaining manual hand pumps that supply safe water without fuel-powered pumping; and by replacing the household practice of boiling unsafe water using firewood or charcoal, the project achieves an estimated annual reduction of 21,500 tCO₂e.
- Holistic Health: Integrates regular water-quality testing every three months and community sanitation awareness campaigns through local Water Management Committees.
Boreholes repair in progress
For more info read more: https://arde-kubahorwanda.org/arde-kubaho-and-guangzhou-iceberg-partner-to-revitalise-102-boreholes-in-southern-rwanda/
- “Umugore n’Idibukikije” Project
Officially titled “Women Cooperativists Leading Empowerment Processes in the Face of the Climate Crisis and Gender-Based Violence” (implemented across 2025–2027 in partnership with Medicus Mundi), this initiative promotes climate adaptation and mitigation through equitable access, use, and control of sustainable resources led by rural women organized in 6 cooperatives in Kamonyi District.
Women working with the ‘UMUGORE N’IBIDUKIKIJE” project after completing their training.
- Broad Environmental & Agroforestry Portfolio
In addition to various interventions, ARDE/KUBAHO highlighted other prominent carbon-removal and resilience pathways from its extensive portfolio:
- Landscape Restoration through Agroforestry Trees in Rubavu District: Implemented through the TerraFund for AFR100 program in partnership with the World Resources Institute (WRI), this project targets 250,000 trees across 1,500 hectares in Nyakiriba and Cyanzarwe (with nearly 190,000 trees planted by late 2025), laying the groundwork for long-term carbon removals and quantified community benefits.
Trees nursery in Nyakiriba sector
- Kayumbu Watershed Restoration Project (Kamonyi): Entitled “Enhancing resilience to climate change for food security, livelihood improvement and sustainable land use management of Kayumbu watershed in Kamonyi district” and implemented in partnership with the Rwanda Green Fund, this project features 30,000 trees, landscape terracing across 140 hectares, and solar-powered irrigation systems that avoid emissions by replacing fuel-driven pumps.
Networking and Building Strategic Partnerships
A core objective of ARDE/KUBAHO’s attendance at CMAS 2026 was expanding its network of technical developers, investors, and carbon-credit buyers. At the summit, the organization engaged with potential partners to secure:
- Technical Collaborators: Experts for advanced project design, baseline assessments, and rigorous digital MRV tracking tools.
- Climate-Finance Partners: Stakeholders interested in supporting long-term monitoring and equitable community benefit-sharing mechanisms.
- Investors and Carbon Buyers: Forward-thinking entities looking to invest in verified, high-integrity African carbon credit pipelines that deliver simultaneous social, economic, and environmental dividends.
ARDE/KUBAHO Delegate Louis, with IPFG Delegate after the summit
Looking Ahead
As CMAS 2026 concluded with a strong emphasis on trust, transparency, and fair pricing for African carbon credits, ARDE/KUBAHO returns energized to scale its impact. By marrying grassroots community empowerment, exemplified by initiatives like the Rubavu Agroforestry project, the Umugore n’Idibukikije gender-empowerment initiative, and the borehole maintenance project, with structured carbon finance mechanisms, the organization continues to prove that local actions in Rwanda yield powerful, measurable contributions to global climate resilience.
