Innovation in Africa – The Women’s Bakery

Kigali, Rwanda is located in Central/Eastern Africa, 8,596 miles from Denver. So how is it that Denver, Colorado and the Capital and largest city in Rwanda are linked? The answer lies within the Continuous Process Improvement teachings of the Denver Peak Academy. 2017 Peak Academy Black Belt graduate, Madeleine Binsfrahm, has taken the Peak Academy tools across the Atlantic Ocean and brought them to her colleagues at The Women’s Bakery (TWB) – an organization that supports vulnerable women in Rwanda through extensive training and provides affordable, quality bread to the community.

Madeleine, who serves as the Development Director for The Women’s Bakery (TWB), launched a Process Improvement and Innovation training for TWB staff in early 2019. The staff have tackled process mapping exercises, developed visual management tools in the form of production boards, and created spaghetti diagrams to better understand their process flows. Madeleine first trained The Women’s Bakery leadership team, then trained staff in Kigali virtually via a video conference. Her latest training was facilitated in person with TWB staff during a trip to Kigali.

In the spirit of Peak Academy, Madeleine has shared the tools she learned during her week of Black Belt training with others! We applaud Madeleine for taking the initiative and applying the tools she learned to the Women’s Bakery in Kigali.