Field stories, research papers, press releases, and event recaps from twenty-five years of building rural access across Africa.
Bridges to Prosperity is now Fika, which means “to arrive” in Kiswahili, Zulu and other African languages. The new name reflects our shift from building bridges to partnering with governments to deliver safe, reliable rural access at national scale.
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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…
Discover how Fika’s bridge projects in Rwanda are helping rural communities overcome barriers to schools, healthcare, markets and essential services.
What does it really take to build AI that drives meaningful social impact at scale?
Investment will connect ~9 million Ethiopians to essential services and advance a long-term, government-owned rural access program.
Last week, Fika joined changemakers, innovators, and systems thinkers from around the world in Oxford for the 2026 Skoll World Forum. We hosted four sessions and a social…
To mark 25 years, we asked some of those people to write a love letter. Not to the organization. Not to the mission. But to every single person…
Fika Uganda was honored to host the Environmental and Safeguards Team from the Ministry of Works and Transport for a field visit to our trail bridge projects along…
Rural communities in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remain isolated from reliable access to critical sites and social services due to inadequate transport connectivity. Formal planning approaches…
One farmer's story traces how it happened When the rainy season settles over the Kasenga and Kasisi communities in Chongwe District, the Kasenga River becomes a barrier. For…
In 2024, a delegation from Tanzania visited a few trailbridges built under Fika’s program in partnership with the government of Rwanda. Last week, more than a hundred development…
The sun rose over Musanze, painting the hills in gold, as teams from across Fika gathered to connect, reflect, and recommit to advancing rural access alongside the governments…
Who Fika Is Now From bridges → to rural access systems. Fika has evolved from a bridge-building implementer into a systems catalyst for safe, reliable rural transport access,…
Bridges to Prosperity is now Fika, which means “to arrive” in Kiswahili, Zulu and other African languages. The new name reflects our shift from building bridges to partnering…
Year round access is not a luxury but a necessity for rural communities. In this piece, we explore how reliable rural connectivity unlocks education, health care, and economic…
At UNGA80 and Climate Week in New York, we made the case for the one billion people who live more than two kilometers from an all-season road. This…
Agricultural monitoring is least developed for smallholders in low- and middle-income countries—communities most likely to be impacted by hunger, poverty, and climate change. Recent efforts to monitor smallholder…
The third post in our government partnership series covers institutionalization: how successful pilots become government-led rural access programs that continue without significant support from Fika.
With immense pride and deep gratitude, we’re excited to share our 2024 Annual Report, a look back at a year defined by growth, impact, and strategic transition.
Color has the power to shape how we experience a story: to evoke emotion, guide the eye, and create a lasting impression. In The Connector, a short film…
Our 2020–2025 strategic plan, published as Bridges to Prosperity. It sets three priorities: technical assistance from an East Africa hub, proving our model through the Rwanda research program,…
The second post in our government partnership series looks at piloting: how Fika runs pilot programs that build government leadership, local technical skills and supply chains for rural…
How Fika Digital uses data, AI and innovation to make rural access more equitable. The full blog series is on Medium.
Trail bridges are vital for improving rural connectivity and living standards. Their construction minimally impacts the environment and causes less disruption. These bridges are crucial for safe river…
Fika, in partnership with the Better Planet Laboratory, has launched WaterNet, an AI-powered model that triples the known extent of mapped waterways globally. By adding 124 million kilometers of…
The first post in our government partnership series explains how Fika researches a country's transport priorities and builds relationships before a partnership begins, drawing on our work in…
In her captivating TEDx Talk, "How to (literally) build the most powerful, life-changing connections," Nivi Sharma, CEO of Fika, shares profound insights drawn from a career dedicated to…
We are excited to share our latest video highlighting the transformative work of the TRAIL Ethiopia program, a collaboration between Fika (B2P), Helvetas, and the Ethiopian government. This initiative…
A walk-through of the current version of Fika Map, our machine learning tool for planning rural access, presented by Creative Technologist Cameron Kruse.
Our field assessments have found more than 5,500 water crossings, many over rivers that don't appear on any map. This brief explains how we're mapping Africa's missing rivers…
Fika (B2P) has been featured in the latest episode of the popular BBC series, The Human Component. Produced by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions, this episode highlights our innovative…
A two-page overview of our work in Zambia and how we partner with government and communities on cost-effective, climate-smart rural infrastructure.
View or download the entire report as a PDF Note from the Board Chair and CEO We’ve both had the privilege of leading tremendous growth and shifts within…
This holiday season, Fika introduces 'Women and Trail Bridges: The Road to Empowerment,' a campaign dedicated to unveiling the profound impact of safe access on the lives of…
Trail bridges are durable, low-cost structures that serve pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles and livestock. This two-page summary brings together the evidence on how they improve incomes, health and education…
Trail bridges let students reach school safely all year. A case study from Cyumba, Rwanda, shows what changed for more than 2,500 school-aged children after a new bridge…
Many rural households must cross a river to reach a health center. This brief follows Mary, a community health worker in Rwanda, and shows how trail bridges help…
Extreme weather is becoming more frequent in East Africa. This brief explains how trail bridges help isolated farming communities adapt by keeping markets and services within reach when…
Women carry a disproportionate share of the transport burden in rural households. This brief sets out the link between transport access and gender inequality, and how trail bridges…
Trail bridges return a significant economic benefit to rural communities. Dollar for dollar, they’re one of the best investments we can make in poverty alleviation.
Year One Annual Review Workshop In early June 2023, the Fika and Helvetas teams came together in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to review and reflect on year one of…
Fika is thrilled to announce Fika Map, a tool suite that leverages leading-edge technology and data to bridge the data equity gap and transform rural infrastructure assessments, planning,…
Flooding, an increasing risk in Rwanda, tends to isolate and restrict the mobility of rural communities. In this work, we developed a streamflow model to determine whether floods…
New Beginnings The 2021-2022 year marked a new course for Fika, as Nivi Sharma took over as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer. Under her leadership, we’re embarking…
We present a study design, pre-analysis plan, process evaluation and baseline results designed to establish the impact of trailbridges on health, education, agricultural and economic outcomes of households…
Challenge, Change, and Commitment as Constants Fika is pleased to release our Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Report, covering the period of September 1, 2020 to August 31, 2021. …
A $10 million USD, three-year grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust will leverage Fika’s (B2P) leading-edge assessment and evaluation programs, Helvetas’ track record of excellence in locally driven…
Dearest friends of Fika, On behalf of the Board of Directors, the UK Trust, and our staff, I am thrilled to announce the appointment of Ms. Nivi Sharma as CEO of…
The rural transport infrastructure sector is a critical force for sustainable development that is interwoven with many other sectors. Rural transportation is an underlying driver of many of…
Fika (B2P) and the Government of Rwanda unveiled the 100th trailbridge built in Gatare sector, Nyamagabe district, Southern province, which will serve more than 3,400 people in the…
Imagine having to risk your life to access the daily resources and relationships that you depend on to learn, earn, engage, and thrive. Every day, more than 1…
In the spring of 2020, Fika released a new strategic plan, outlining our intentions to reorient our organizational focus to inspiring and resourcing a global movement for rural…
Making way for a new generation of Fika leadership. Dearest friends of Fika, Last week I shared our FY20 Annual Report that highlighted advances in our mission, including…
A Year of Action -inspired by vision, guided by strategy, and fueled by all of you. Dear Friends of Fika, It is impossible to look back on this…
It seems like just yesterday that we launched our One Bridge Campaign – a collaborative, team effort to share the story of our work and resiliency in an…
Researchers at The Mortenson Center in Global Engineering at the University of Colorado, Yale University, and Arizona State University have published the first major paper of the Rwanda…
Bridge progress update: Nyarusange and Ngoma Good news! Just as I promised, I’m back to share updates on the construction of Nyarusange and Ngoma bridges – the two…
Rural isolation can limit access to basic services and income-generating opportunities. Among some communities, rainfall induced flooding can cause increased uncertainty where first-mile transportation infrastructure is limited. In…
Safe and consistent access to essential services is critical for poverty alleviation in rural communities, but even significant physical transportation barriers, such as pedestrian water crossings, are poorly…
In Rwanda’s Gatumba sector, the rains haven’t stopped since October. Typically, there’s a respite between the fall and spring rainy seasons, with a break between January and March.…
Trail bridges can improve access to critical services such as health care, schools, and markets. In order to evaluate the impact of trail bridges in rural Rwanda, it…
We measure the impact of increasing integration between rural villages and outside labor markets. Seasonal flash floods cause exogenous and unpredictable loss of market access. We study the…
A Conversation with Viz for Social Good Over the next few weeks, Fika will be partnering with Viz for Social Good, a social data project whose mission is…
Bridges impact lives and livelihoods and provide safe access and connection for families. Though the celebration varies from country to country, we as global community honor fatherhood year-round.…
A Conversation with Alex McNeill, Director of Operations by Brandy Bertram, VP of Development The impacts of the COVID-19 crisis have, and continue to be, far-reaching. Individuals and…
A Significant Step Forward A NOTE FROM AVERY Each year we produce an Impact Report for you, our community, that provides insight into our focus, transparency in our…
Where were you a year ago? At the beginning of this year, none of us imagined that we would be united in confronting a challenge that would impact…
These are difficult times. Fear, anxiety, and loneliness creep in on our attempts to maintain some sort of normalcy and routine. We have to plan to access critical…
When we decided that our year-end fundraiser would feature Bolivia, I couldn’t help but be both excited and a bit nervous about what traveling to rural Bolivia would…
Imundu is a seven-year-old girl who lives in rural Rwanda. She leaves home at 6:00 am to go to school with her dad. On their walk to school,…
Fika is honored to announce that we have been selected as an official member of the Million Lives Club, an initiative that celebrates innovators and social entrepreneurs who…
As we begin our scaling efforts in Rwanda, our team in-country is working hard to finish 2019 strong. On October 3, Fika, together with the Government of Rwanda,…
Author: Erin James, P.E. Upon hearing of the opportunity to build a bridge in 2015, I was enthralled with the sheer wildness of the adventure. Not only would…
Mariale was born to build bridges, both literal and metaphorical. She not only is extremely talented at what she does professionally, but her magnetic personality draws people to…
Written by: Abbie Noriega, Vice President of Evaluation The first time I crossed a footbridge was in April of 2014. That’s not actually true, of course; before that,…
Rural isolation is a root cause of poverty. When farmers can’t access the market to sell their crops, they lose their income. When rivers flood and a student’s…
Olive is a learner. She’s the type of person that wants to understand, to dig deep, and rarely does she take an answer at face value. This, paired…
Women have played a significant role in many of the world’s most impactful developments in engineering, math, technology, and science, dating all the way back to Roman times.…
In October 2018, Avery Bang was invited to speak at McKinsey & Company Global Infrastructure Initiative on how Fika is working to connect the rural last mile through…
In June 2016, a 10-person team from Flint & Neill and Balfour Beatty, two engineering firms from London, travelled to Tubungo, Rwanda in partnership with Fika and the…
The Fika University Program, a student-led, club-based chapter program at colleges and universities spanning the US and the UK, has been an integral part of all that the…
It seems difficult to believe that I’ve been back in Colorado and working full-time with our Fika team since last fall. My year spent pursuing an MBA at…
Community investment in a bridge extends far beyond the builders who participate on each Fika project. Local governments contribute materials and equipment, advocate for new connecting roads and…
Ian Firth, member of the Fika Board of Directors and Chair of the Fika UK Charitable Trust, delivered a powerful TED Talk in early 2018 where he discussed…
Our Vision Fika envisions a world where poverty caused by rural isolation no longer exists. Through bridge building programs around the world, we work with communities and partners…
Fika's 5th Edition Bridge Builders Manual
A sustainable model for development The 2015 UN Sustainable Development Summit presented a historic and unprecedented opportunity to bring the citizens of the world together to embark on…
What if every single day you sent your son or daughter to school, you knew there was a chance they wouldn't return home? Or if going to the…
Transforming the rural last mile Outsized need Globally, one in seven people lack safe, year‐round access to the services and opportunities in their immediate surroundings, due to the…
We were honored that Chameau Bridge in Haiti was featured in USA Today's The world's most spectacular new bridges article.
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