Both have finance experience. Both worked in Africa for the Clinton Health Access Initiative (Mehta in Nigeria, Kiernan in Ethiopia). In preparation for a Harvard Business School (HBS) new-venture competition, and with their $25,000 runner-up prize, they studied the transportation bottlenecks and market asymmetries that kept farmers from selling their crops at a fair price, and the resulting waste of fruit, despite obvious demand. (Even with ample tomato supplies, Nigeria annually buys $360 million of paste. A June report in The Economist highlighted the country’s dysfunctional agriculture, citing the perverse imports of tomato paste.)