Jehiel Oliver is the founder of Hello Tractor, an innovative shared economy platform that makes tractor usage affordable to marginalized farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.
Founded in 2014, Hello Tractor connects tractor owners with smallholder farmers in need of tractor services, where Jehiel is responsible for overall management and strategy.
“For us, it was about economic growth and prosperity for these African economies. Starting in a rural sector, you have low-income populations underserviced by just about every part of the economy, and seeing an opportunity to commercially serve these economic actors, these farmers, who are also entrepreneurs themselves.
And to serve them in a way where they can grow their productivity, they can grow their income, they can send their kids to school, and not pull their kids out of school to work the fields,” he stated.
Before founding the thriving company, Oliver served in the banking sector but had the desire to impact and help Kenyan farmers.
“That’s where I uncovered the importance of agriculture, the role it plays in Africa’s economy and future economic growth,” he stated in an interview with Forbes.
Prior to Hello Tractor, Jehiel founded Aya Consulting, a boutique development. At Aya, he worked in over ten countries, including conflict zones.
In addition to his duties at Hello Tractor, Jehiel also served on the board of H4H, Inc., an impact investment fund providing mortgage reinsurance for South African communities affected by HIV/AIDS.
He has been honored with numerous awards for his work in social entrepreneurship including being recognized by Foreign Policy Magazine as a Top 100 Global Thinker for 2016.
He was appointed under the Obama Administration to serve two years as a member of the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa, where he chaired the technology sub-committee.
