Something is shifting in Sub-Saharan Africa’s animal protein sector. Demand for poultry, dairy and feed is climbing fast, yet producers across the region are still contending with real constraints: biosecurity gaps, patchy supply chains and limited access to the technologies that could ease both. Closing that gap is not a matter of good intentions. It takes the right people in the same room, comparing notes on what actually works.
That room is in Kigali this October. VIV Africa, the region’s leading Feed to Food platform, returns to the Kigali Convention Centre on 7 and 8 October 2026, with a Leadership Conference kicking things off a day earlier on 6 October. About 150 exhibitors will fill 1,650 square metres of exhibition space covering the full animal protein value chain, from farm production and feed ingredients to processing and animal health. Poultry remains at the heart of the show, and a dedicated Dairy Pavilion this year signals just how far VIV Africa’s ambitions now stretch across agrifood. Around 2,000 visitors are expected, travelling in from Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Africa, Cameroon, Sudan and beyond.
What makes the event worth three days out of an already packed calendar is not simply its size. It is the way the program is built around outcomes rather than footfall. The Leadership Conference sets the tone before the exhibition floor even opens, gathering international experts to work through the trends and challenges shaping poultry, agriculture and dairy across the continent, for a registration fee of 140 USD. Senior buyers and decision makers can go further still through the Hosted Buyer Program, which arranges scheduled introductions and dedicated support so that time on the ground translates into actual supplier relationships rather than a stack of business cards.
For an agrifood professional weighing whether to attend, the case comes down to four things. There is a chance to learn directly from global experts grappling with the same pressures on production and margins. There is the opportunity to discover technologies and solutions already proven in comparable markets, rather than reading about them second-hand. There is the ability to connect face to face with suppliers, partners and buyers who can move a business forward. And there is the prospect of growth that follows from all three, new partnerships and new deals that would be far harder to reach from behind a desk.
Natalie Taylor, Project Manager for VIV Africa, described the show as a place where the region’s animal protein industry comes to make real decisions rather than window shop. That distinction is worth sitting with. Sub-Saharan Africa is among the fastest growing animal protein markets anywhere in the world right now, and the companies willing to show up and engage with it directly are the ones best placed to shape where it goes next.
Registration for VIV Africa 2026 is open now, and entry to the two-day exhibition is free for anyone who registers in advance. Doing so also means avoiding queues on arrival and getting early access to the exhibitor list, which is a small thing that makes a real difference once you are trying to plan a busy two days in Kigali.
For anyone with a stake in where this region’s agrifood industry is headed, whether as a producer, a supplier or a technical lead with influence over what gets purchased, VIV Africa 2026 is where those conversations are actually happening. Registration is open at africa.viv.net.
