Organization: KickStart International, Inc.

All Photos KickStart's mission is to get millions of people out of poverty quickly, cost-effectively and sustainably. And, in doing so, change the way the world fights poverty.

Focus Areas:	Technology, Economic Development, Poverty
Countries Served:	Burkina Faso Kenya Mali Tanzania, United Republic of

Description of Services:
KickStart is an award-winning, nonprofit social enterprise with a revolutionary solution to fighting poverty. They work in Africa, and design and mass-market simple, money-making tools that poor entrepreneurs buy and use to create highly profitable businesses. KickStart?s human-powered ?MoneyMaker? irrigation pumps are very low-cost pumps that are sold in local shops, and they enable poor farmers to move from rain-fed agriculture to commercial irrigated farming. On average these farmers increase their annual incomes by over $1,000 and this increase takes their families out of poverty. Over 89,000 farmers are using MoneyMaker pumps to run businesses which have lifted over 446,000 people out of poverty forever. *As of 1/1/2010
History:
KickStart is an international nongovernmental/nonprofit organization (NGO) that was founded in Kenya in July 1991 by Nick Moon and Martin Fisher.
Accomplishments & Progress:
KickStart has offices in Kenya, Tanzania, and Mali. They have engineers and technicians that design and develop their award winning products. They also have sales people, trainers, and promoters to sell and describe the benefits of their products to their customers. KickStart developed a unique model in Kenya that is now being replicated in other African countries. They have expanded their successful Kenya program and have now opened new programs in Southern and West Africa to help millions more people out of poverty.