Mission

Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, KickStart International's mission is to distribute affordable irrigation tools at scale across sub-Saharan Africa, giving smallholder farmers a practical path to better livelihoods through year-round harvests, stronger incomes, and greater food security. With irrigation, farmers no longer depend on seasonal rains to grow food — a critical advantage as droughts and increasingly extreme weather threaten harvests across the region. Farmers can grow and sell produce through the dry season, when food supplies are lower and prices are highest, rather than flooding markets at harvest time when prices fall. KickStart works with more than 300 partner organizations across 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa to expand smallholder irrigation access, create agricultural employment, and strengthen local food systems. Surveys show that farmers with KickStart pumps increase their incomes up to fivefold within 18 months. To date, KickStart has put more than 425,000 MoneyMaker pumps into farmers' hands, generating $1.6 billion in new annual profits and wages, lifting 1.6 million people a major step out of poverty, and putting fresh fruits and vegetables on the plates of 16 million people across the region.