Starting in 1998, KickStart began developing a line of manually operated irrigation pumps, designed to enable farmers to easily pull water from a river, pond, or shallow well, and pressurize it through a hose pipe to reach their crops. Together, they founded ApproTEC, which later became KickStart International in 2005.
Their model was based on a five-step process to develop, launch and promote simple money-making tools that poor entrepreneurs could use to create their own profitable businesses. Out of frustration with traditional development models, Fisher and Moon developed an alternative model for poverty alleviation. The two worked closely together on a variety of development interventions, including building rural water systems, constructing schools, and creating job training programs. Fisher first went to Kenya on a Fulbright Fellowship to study the Appropriate Technology Movement, where he met Moon, who was in Kenya with the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO). Only 6% of Africa's cultivated land is irrigated, limiting the volume of crops that can be grown out of season, but increased access to irrigation systems stands to increase food productivity by up to 50%. Food supply across sub-Saharan Africa is highly unstable due to its unpredictable climate and water reserves.