The business trajectory of Elia Timotheo’s mother, from street food stall vendor in the Kilimanjaro area of Tanzania to owner of five restaurants, ignited his entrepreneurial fire, his determination never to work for someone else. However, student fieldwork with 3,000 smallholder farmers for the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture forged the certified accountant’s direction.

What he observed exposed him to challenges in the farm-to-market supply chain. Poor yields produce losses, waste, and low market returns frustrate farmers’ livelihoods.