How did Noah, an IT specialist, become a very successful full-time farmer? It was during a visit to a client in Angola where he was installing new networking equipment. He went to the villages and saw how hunger was affecting people even though they had fertile soils. He thought and said to himself; ‘I have to do something back home’.

Back home he received a gift of land from his father in-law (an experienced farmer) and his new career was born.

How did Noah, an IT specialist, become a very successful full-time farmer? It was during a visit to a client in Angola where he was installing new networking equipment. He went to the villages and saw how hunger was affecting people even though they had fertile soils. He thought and said to himself; ‘I have to do something back home’.

Back home he received a gift of land from his father in-law (an experienced farmer) and his new career was born.

From his half an acre piece of land, Noah says he has got more satisfaction than from his IT work. By this time, he had quit work and had started an ICT Consultancy firm together with his wife.

 “It involved a lot of travelling and it was during this time I managed to visit many farms in almost each country I visited,” he says.

When he became a father he decided to get some people to manage the IT consultancy company as he focused more on farming.

“We eventually sold off the company bought land and started farming large scale.”

He now is the Creative Director of Mashariki Advertz Ltd, which finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. His farm, Nasco Farm Fresh, has become a leading agribusiness firm in Kenya.

“One way of giving to society is donating money or food or clothes but I decided the best way of giving to society is by teaching young people basic farming skills,” Noah says.

By giving them a small piece of his farm to use for a season, they generate enough capital to start their own farms. He also visits farms and attends training programs with them. In 4 years, he has trained 23 young people.

“And 15 of them are now my competitors at the markets!”

He was recently honoured to be among the few youths who attended the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi where almost 70% of the funding opportunities went to agriculture-related entrepreneurs.

Joining the YPARD mentoring program, Noah looks forward to mentoring even more young people and making them entrepreneurs in agriculture.