SPOKEs
SPecialised Outreach and Knowledge Establishments
Our centres are designed within a “Hub and SPOKE” model.
While the hub is the physical centre, such as the ACES Rubirizi campus, SPOKEs are being developed in strategic locations, with expertise tailored to specific areas to demonstrate how these solutions can be deployed practically across the continent.
What are SPOKEs?
Other key elements of a SPOKE include:
- Farmers – making a financial commitment to a co-operative.
- The co-operative – investigating and developing their own financial models
Register interest for a SPOKE
Complementing these, another key overarching pillar in the wider programme is training future trainers who can then go out and work either developing the model in their own communities or create a career supporting other communities. We also run a variety of underpinning foundation, policymaker and wider training programmes (in-person and online), including technical training for refrigeration engineers as well as health and safety and Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) courses.
Interested in the "hub and SPOKE" model? Contact: [email protected]
Essential reading
New Faces at ACES: Odile Mukeshimana, Diane Benimana and Juvenal Djangwani
9th Feb 2026
ACES has seen further expansion over the past six months, with 13 new staff members joining since August 2025. New arrivals have taken up positions across the organisation, including in the academic, research, and technical departments.
Picture of the Week: Students learning brazing techniques
6th Feb 2026
Our latest cohort of students have just finished the Essentials in Brazing Techniques for Refrigeration Systems course. This workshop covers everything from theory and safety to practical torch control and nitrogen purging.
Impact of raising frozen food temperature by 3°C on cold-chain sustainability
4th Feb 2026
As ACES (Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-Chain) explores the opportunity for frozen food in Africa, PhD student Lakshmi Wasana Gunathilaka Jayaweera Arachchilage investigates the impact of raising frozen food temperatures by 3ºc.
“I came to ACES with my child to learn more about cold-chain”
2nd Feb 2026
Mukandayambaje Clarisse discusses training at ACES with her baby, starting the Train the Trainer course, and setting up a ginger beer business.
