This study investigated the potential of edible green walls (EGWs) as a contextually adaptive mechanism for advancing urban agroecology across sub-Saharan African cities. Despite growing global interest in vertical food production systems, most EGW models have been imported from temperate, resource-abundant contexts, raising fundamental questions about their appropriateness, scalability, and ecological coherence within African urban environments. Drawing on a mixed-methods agroecological framework, this research examined the factors influencing community adoption willingness, the integration of local ecological knowledge into EGW design and implementation, and the policy environment necessary to support contextual urban food systems. A structured survey was administered to 320 urban residents and smallholder food producers across four African cities—Kampala, Nairobi, Accra, and Dar es Salaam—selected to represent diverse agroecological zones, urban typologies, and governance contexts. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's bivariate correlations, and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Results revealed that ecological knowledge (β = 0.412, p < 0.001), perceived food security benefits (β = 0.319, p < 0.001), local agroecology integration (β = 0.354, p < 0.001), green wall design appropriateness (β = 0.276, p < 0.001), and policy support (β = 0.187, p = 0.002) were all significant positive predictors of community adoption willingness. The SEM model demonstrated acceptable fit (CFI = 0.963; RMSEA = 0.048), affirming the theoretical framework's validity. The study concludes that EGWs hold substantial promise as a contextually grounded urban food intervention in Africa, but their success is contingent upon participatory design processes, the embedding of indigenous ecological knowledge, targeted policy advocacy, and departure from wholesale replication of Western models. Recommendations are advanced for urban planners, agroecologists, and policymakers.