Entrepreneurship In Sub-Saharan Africa

In Sub-Saharan Africa, only a small proportion of irrigable land is currently irrigated. Effective expansion of irrigation could increase smallholder incomes and climate resilience without compromising underlying natural resources.

The Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute supports access to smallholder irrigation by studying how individual, small-scale irrigation equipment reaches farmers through entrepreneurial pathways, often described as “farmer-led irrigation.”

We apply lean start-up methods to the study of agricultural entrepreneurship. We use the same methodology to study entrepreneurship as we teach to aspiring business owners, including customer discovery interviews, ecosystem mapping, and business model development. We “get out of the building” to understand customer’s needs and seek to support entrepreneurs through one-to-one and group engagement, including workshops as well as individual or group mentoring.

Below is a collection of our publications, educational articles, and training videos. To learn more about our work, schedule a training event, or receive start-up support, please contact us in the U.S. or Rwanda: