Press Releases

USAID Officials See MONEYMAKER Pumps in Action

March 2, 2006

USAID/Tanzania Mission Director Pamela White and Jacqueline Schafer, Assistant Administrator of Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade (EGAT), and Jeremy Hagger, Executive Assistant from USAID in Washington, DC were in Arusha on the 10th of February 2006 to witness how the MoneyMaker pumps contribute to poverty reduction. MoneyMaker pumps are developed and marketed by KickStart a non-profit organization. USAID helps support KickStart’s program in Tanzania.

The visitors from USAID were keen to see, firsthand, how the pumps are used and the benefits they bring to Tanzanian families. The visitors were first introduced to the KickStart award winning sustainable poverty reduction business model thru a powerpoint presentation at KickStart’s Arusha office. At the T.F.A (Tanzania Farmers Association), distributors of the MoneyMaker pumps, they were able to test each pump and see how the distribution chain works. After testing each pump Miss White commented, “The new hip pump is so easy to use I can operate one with two fingers.”

After TFA, the group travelled to Tengeru, Arumeru district to meet Mr. Sway, a Tanzanian small farmer benefiting from the MoneyMaker pump. A coffee farmer, Mr. Sway earns extra income from growing coffee seedlings and a banana plantation. Before purchasing a MoneyMaker pump, he depended on the rain for his farming, however, the severe drought forced him to look for an alternative. He explained to the USAID officials that with the pump he has managed to salvage his crop and has been able to increase the number of acres he has in production. He is expecting an annual return of Tsh. 10,000,000 from coffee seedlings and another Tsh.4,000,000 from bananas. He has also been able to start a vegetable garden for domestic use as well as water his cattle. With this expansion, he has been able to employ four casual labourers (3 men and 1 woman) to assist him on the farm. Mr. Sway said that the Super MoneyMaker pump he bought has saved him and his family from disaster due to the drought and that he intends in the future to build a water reservoir. He says he will use his extra income to educate all his children and put them through university.

The MoneyMaker pumps are affordable treadle pumps that require no fuel. They are easy to use, durable, available throughout the country and each pump comes with a guarantee. KickStart has sold over 16,500 pumps in Tanzania and over 54,000 continent wide. The pumps are manufactured in Tanzania and Kenya, and then distributed through a sustainable chain of wholesalers and retailers.

The MoneyMaker pump has contributed to poverty reduction by helping families start small agro businesses that can harvest up to three times in a year thus pumping up their income.

KickStart is a non profit organization aimed at developing and marketing low cost tools to help reduce poverty. The organization, based in San Francisco U.S.A, has an African Regional Office in Kenya and country programmes in Kenya, Tanzania and Mali.

Contact Information:

Anne Otieno
Cell # 0745 288700
Office# 255 27 250 9370
Email anne.otieno@kickstart.org