Safari Strives Wins Major Yale Innovation Awards for Rwanda-based Workforce and Enterprise Model

Over two weeks this spring, Safari Strives—a nonprofit founded by Elie Imani ’27 with close ties to the Council on African Studies —earned two of Yale’s most competitive innovation honors at a moment of significant organizational growth. The recognition came as the venture clarified its structure and sharpened its approach during the fellowship period, while keeping the same underlying mission: helping entrepreneurs in Rwanda move from precarious, survival-level work into stable, scalable livelihoods.

In April and May, Safari Strives received the Manolo Sánchez Prize ($25,000) at Startup Yale 2026 and was selected for the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale (Tsai CITY) Summer Fellowship ($20,000), Tsai CITY’s flagship accelerator for student-led ventures. The fellowship pairs funding with structured mentorship and venture-development training, running in two phases—an in-person residency at Yale from June through July, followed by remote work through August—supporting both on-the-ground implementation in Rwanda and systems-building from New Haven. Imani and Rita Nwanze '27, both master’s students in Yale’s African Studies program, led the effort that earned Safari Strives the awards.

As the organization has evolved, its model has become more clearly defined around a central goal: building an enterprise hub in Rubavu that helps operating entrepreneurs move beyond survival and into durable growth. Safari Strives now centers on three connected platforms. The Safari Strives Venture Accelerator supports entrepreneurs with practical tools and systems for expansion. A shared enterprise hub offers workspace and production tools that entrepreneurs can use to increase output and reliability. The Regenerative Enterprise Lab, a poultry business, serves a dual role—providing a source of cash flow for the broader model and functioning as a demonstration enterprise where entrepreneurs can observe and learn replicable business systems in practice.

Safari Strives is also preparing to launch its first 16-week accelerator cohort with four operating entrepreneurs whose work spans pig farming, smart wooden-light manufacturing, cosmetics made from coffee residue, and an arts-based venture focused on mental wellness.

Imani said the Startup Yale experience brought both pressure and perspective. “Startup Yale was intensely competitive, with exceptional founders competing for the same award,” he said. “But when I pitched Safari Strives, I was not only representing myself. I was carrying the journeys of the entrepreneurs we serve and the communities that had never had access to a platform like this. Winning felt like the culmination of years of work, and proof that Yale had not only believed in our story, but helped us move it into its next chapter. Safari means journey, and standing among so many ambitious founders pushed me to strive even harder on ours.”

For Safari Strives, the combined $45,000 in support will help strengthen the underlying infrastructure that enables the model to endure—building operational systems, equipping shared space and tools, and preparing the venture accelerator for its first cohort in Rubavu.