Linda’s Solar-Powered Mission to Change the Fortunes of Farmers in Kenya's Drylands
Something deep in our DNA makes us recoil from anything that seems hostile to growth. Most people look at Kenya’s sun-scorched farmlands and see nature’s rejection of human ambition. Linda Kamau saw the same terrain but felt the kick of courage to make it work.
This wasn’t always Linda’s perspective. Growing up in Nairobi as the daughter of a single mother who worked as primary school teacher, Linda’s path seemed mapped towards stability and convention. She excelled in geography and physics, dreamed of becoming a psychiatrist, and appeared destined for a traditional professional career. But even then, something in her was drawn to the unconventional. When she finished high school in 2003, however, she first flashed her knack for spotting opportunities. She set aside her earlier dreams and enrolled in telecommunications engineering at Multimedia University, just as Kenya’s ICT boom was taking off.
After graduating, Linda found a steady job working for the International Committee of the Red Cross, but her passion for pursuing new ventures and opportunities never went away. The work was meaningful, but something restless stirred within her, the same instinct that had led her to telecommunications was now searching for the next opportunity to make an impact. In 2016, a visit to her cousin’s farmers in Embu would alter her life. Her cousin owned multiple farms and livestock there, and what Linda witnessed redirected her life’s trajectory. On that visit, Linda discovered the challenges that Kenyan farmers faced, having to grow crops in arid lands and being dependent on the rainy season, which affected crop yields and food security. Linda also saw a new opportunity to impact rural communities in Kenya by using her expertise in technology to help low-income farmers develop their agriculture practices and improve their livelihoods.
The farmers Linda met weren’t just struggling, they were innovating with whatever resources they had, displaying an entrepreneurial spirit that humbled and inspired her. Their resilience in the face of impossible conditions made her realize that her telecommunications engineering expertise could be the missing piece of their puzzle. In 2019, Linda took the leap, quit her job at the Red Cross, and moved to Embu to become an entrepreneur. It was scary, but she had a vision, and she needed to pursue it. “At the time, entrepreneurship was not celebrated. Many people did not understand what it meant to be an entrepreneur. My mother worried a lot. But I saw the opportunity, and I knew I had to take it.”
Linda founded Malian Agribusiness and Solutions, a company focused on the production of sweet potatoes. In starting the business, Linda felt firsthand the struggles that farmers had in crop yields shrinking during dry seasons, as she too scrambled to produce enough supply throughout the whole year. Linda also struggled to access markets, acquire capital, and finding a partner that she could trust and depend on.
Running Malian Agribusiness solo had taught Linda harsh lessons about the limits of individual ambition. She needed a partner, better funding, and a clearer strategy. When she discovered the Jasiri Talent Investor Programme through an entrepreneur WhatsApp group, it felt like exactly what she’d been searching for. After a demanding application process, she became part of the first-ever cohort.
In the Jasiri Talent Programme, Linda managed to find the co-founder she needed in Helen Wairagu. Together, Linda and Helen founded SowPrecise, a start-up focusing on restoring Africa’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) into productive farms by leveraging precision agriculture technologies and sharing farming resources. The start-up offers SunRider, a mobile solar-powered irrigation system specifically designed for low-income farmers in arid and semi-arid lands. It also offers premium solar panels, durable solar batteries, and solar-powered pest-control devices, keeping in line with its eco-friendly brand. In this way, SowPrecise harnesses the very sunlight that scorches the soil and turns it into the energy that restores its fertility.
Linda describes the Jasiri Talent Programme as having been crucial to the creation of SowPrecise:
“The Jasiri Talent Programme helped me with the funding, finding my co-founder, the technical assistance, and the mentorship I needed to make my business grow. More than that, Jasiri taught me that while profit is important, creating a business that would impact my communities and have lasting effects on the generations to come was more important. The programme validated my motivation and broadened my view from just farms in Kenya to impacting farmers all over Africa and making a difference.”
Linda also conveyed how the structure of the Jasiri Talent Investor Programme was exactly what she needed to maximize her business idea’s potential:
“The facilitators running the programme were great, and you could see that they had real experience in entrepreneurship. The biggest advantage, I would say, from the Jasiri Talent Investor Programme’s education format is that it gives you a chance to fail, learn from your mistakes, and grow. In the validation stage, we managed to try out an idea, see that it didn’t work out, and change it. Initially, we wanted to help grow sunflower seeds, and then we realized that the core issue that all farmers face is that they needed rain, so we pivoted towards irrigation. I also loved that the format wasn’t a competition but a space where everyone had a chance to start their business and get the funding in the end, which gave us a lot of confidence, and we became less afraid of making mistakes and taking risks.”
The residential phase of Jasiri was demanding, but Linda thrived in the collaborative environment. She formed lasting friendships and discovered three key areas where the program transformed her approach: teambuilding, scaling, and market-creating innovation. The communication skills she developed became essential tools, ones she uses daily with co-workers, investors, and the farmers she serves. When the program ended, Linda felt both excited and nervous, but for the first time, she had a concrete plan for growing her business, and creating real impact.
Since the launch of Sow Precise in 2020, a total of 1,048 individuals have directly benefited from their product or service. This includes 3 full-time employees, 10 suppliers, 50 casual workers, 1 HR consultant, 50 customers (with an average household size of 3.9), and 150 individuals trained in solar-powered irrigation. Additionally, Sow Precise has raised $247,000 in grants from YALI and EEP.
When asked what Linda wants her legacy to be, she affirmed, “Entrepreneurship taught me that there is no limit to what I can achieve. I want my legacy to be that I create a tangible impact and raise the socio-economic level of the farmers. Farmers are the backbone of every African country. With our technologies, they can finally sleep without wondering if their harvest will sell, feed their children with certainty, and stand tall with the dignity they’ve always deserved.” She also stated, “I want to show that we already have everything that we need in Africa in terms of talent and innovation and that we don’t need external forces to solve our continent’s challenges.”
Linda has recently been accepted into the Jasiri Growth Accelerator where she will get direct and indirect investment of up to USD 75000 to scale her venture into higher heights, “Joining the Jasiri Growth Accelerator Cohort 4 is an exciting step for me and for SowPrecise. I look forward to growing alongside other bold entrepreneurs, sharing our journey, and pushing forward innovations that truly transform lives across Africa.”
For Linda, the sun-scorched farmlands that once seemed hostile to growth have become proof that Africa has everything it needs to solve its own challenges.
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