Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher - KickStart cofounder applies technology to poverty issues

Martin Fisher co-founded KickStart International, an award-winning non-profit social enterprise that develops appropriate technologies to improve lives and lift people out of poverty. After receiving a doctorate in theoretical and applied mechanics from Stanford in 1985, Fisher won a Fulbright Fellowship to study the appropriate technology movement in Kenya, an experience that informed his activities at KickStart.

Fisher has helped to create and market simple yet effective tools like MoneyMaker irrigation pumps, over 285,000 of which have been sold to date to farmers who use human power to irrigate crops, grow year round, and increase their income from irrigation alone by nearly 500%, on average. He was the founding chair of BuildChange and still serves on their board, was recognized as a Skoll and Schwab Social Entrepreneur, and has received many other noteworthy awards.