Irrigation as a Service Entrepreneur Series: Story #6
From Engineer to Entrepreneur: Osman Kulendi's Journey to Revolutionize Irrigation in Ghana
A Problem Worth Solving
Osman Kulendi, founder of Pumptech, is a leading provider of water infrastructure and irrigation in Ghana. His company’s success is built on a simple but powerful insight: in rural Ghana, maintenance and after-sales service are just as critical as the initial installation.
Osman’s journey began while he was working as a Water and Sanitation (WASH) project engineer for an NGO in Northern Ghana. He frequently supervised the installation of water systems in remote communities, but he saw a recurring problem. When a system broke down, technicians and parts had to be sent from the capital of Accra—a 16-hour journey—leaving communities without water for days or even weeks.
As someone who had grown up in rural Ghana, Osman understood these hardships firsthand. He remembered walking over a kilometer each morning as a boy to fetch water before school. Determined to find a better way, he began dedicating his weekends to repairing the broken systems himself. Though he did the repairs without expectation of payment, he was often rewarded in kind with offerings like a guinea fowl or a goat.
The Birth of Pumptech
As requests for his repair services increased, Osman realized he couldn’t handle the demand alone. He hired a plumber and an electrician to assist him and began charging modest fees to cover their pay. Pumptech was officially born in 2007, with Osman training additional technicians and expanding into full water-infrastructure projects.
A Pivot to Irrigation
A turning point came one day when Osman’s car broke down near a river. A local farmer came to offer assistance, and during their conversation, the older man described his burdensome struggle watering his plots, hauling water from the river with a single watering can.
Hearing this, Osman had a new idea. He saw how he could apply his engineering experience not just to community water systems, but also to small-scale irrigation, directly addressing the farmer's challenge.
Scaling a Service-First Model
From the start, Pumptech’s core differentiator was its strong focus on customer service. Unlike competitors, Pumptech offered repair services regardless of whether they had installed the original product, a strategy that helped them attract and retain a loyal customer base.
This service-first model was tested early on. When Pumptech secured its first major installation contract, the terms required the work to be completed before any payment was made. With limited resources, Osman negotiated a credit arrangement with a supplier, agreeing to share the revenue upon the project's completion. The successful partnership validated his business model and set the stage for future growth.
This service focus was paired with a commitment to quality. After a large shipment of low-cost pumps from a new manufacturer failed—with 100 units rendered unusable—the financial loss reinforced the importance of partnering with dependable, high-quality companies like Grundfos and Lorentz.
As the company grew, Osman moved the headquarters to Accra and opened regional satellite offices to reach customers across the country, building a network that could deliver on his promise of reliable maintenance and spare-parts supply.
Innovating for Access: Irrigation as a Service
Over the past seventeen years, Pumptech has continued to evolve, developing new business models to supply irrigation to smallholder farmers, both individually and through cooperatives. Osman recognizes that high upfront costs are the primary barrier preventing most farmers from accessing irrigation.
In response, he introduced a variation of "Irrigation as a Service" (IaaS) that includes Pay-As-You-Go options and NGO-backed guarantees. These models remove the initial financial burden and allow farmers to pay for irrigation as they use it. This approach has dramatically increased access to irrigation for many Ghanaian farmers.
Looking Ahead
Osman has seen the transformative effect of his IaaS model on both Pumptech’s business and the livelihoods of farmers. The goal is now for Pumptech to become a leading IaaS provider not only in West Africa but across the entire continent. Osman believes that by remaining true to its service-oriented approach, Pumptech can stand out from competitors and generate lasting value for smallholder farmers.
About the Irrigation as a Service Entrepreneur Series
The Irrigation as a Service Founder Stories highlights eight entrepreneurs who are developing innovative solutions to improve water access for smallholder farmers. In January 2025, DWFI brought together eight founders from seven countries for a workshop in Uganda, marking the largest-ever gathering of companies dedicated to IaaS. This series explores each of these companies’ journey with providing access to irrigation as a service – an alternative to pump ownership by farmers. Each founder offers a unique approach to providing this service. The series aims to share real-world experiences to guide future business development, research, and investment in IaaS, ultimately enhancing agricultural productivity in the Global South.
Erin Anders, DWFI Senior Program Manager, and Arianna Elnes, DWFI Communications Specialist, also contributed to this story.
