KickStart International
Martin Fisher has extensive work experience in the field of appropriate technology and poverty alleviation. Martin co-founded ApproTEC in 1991 and served as the Co-Founder & Technical Director until 2002. Prior to that, they worked at Action Aid - Kenya from 1986 to 1991, where they held the position of Senior Technical Advisor and was involved in the establishment of the Appropriate Technology Unit. In 2002, Fisher co-founded KickStart International and currently serves as the CEO & Co-Founder.
Martin Fisher has a strong education background in mechanical engineering. Martin obtained their Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University from 1975 to 1979. Martin then pursued further studies at Stanford University, where they obtained both their Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Mechanical Engineering from 1979 to 1985. Martin later attended Harvard Business School for executive education in Strategic Management for Non-Profits in 2000. Additionally, Martin received an honorary PhD from Clarkson University Graduate School in 2010, although the field of study for this degree is not specified.
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KickStart International
KickStart’s mission is to get millions of people out of poverty quickly, cost effectively and sustainably. KickStart creates opportunities for poor, rural, entrepreneurial farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa to make money and offers a permanent solution to address the deepest root of poverty; lack of income. KickStart designs and mass markets simple, money-making tools that open up business opportunities for poor smallholder farmers. MoneyMaker brand, human powered, irrigation pumps are the most widely used of these products and provide an ideal and environmentally friendly solution that will quickly enable poor farming families to access water and grow crops. These low-cost ($35 and $100 USD) pumps are sold in local retail shops (KickStart works with factories, shippers, distributors and dealers to ensure that our pumps are made widely available and accessible to poor communities and in rural areas), and once purchased, enable farmers to move from rain-fed farming to irrigated agriculture at which point they can grow crops year-round and sell their crops at a profit during the dry season when prices are high. With increased income, they lift themselves out of poverty and improve their quality of life by being able to access: plentiful food, clean water, education for their children and healthcare for their families.