Distribution Enterprise: When first arriving in 2007 it was impossible not to notice the hunger, despair, and lack of hope in the faces of the people in which Tifie was in contact with.  85% of the population are unemployed or underemployed making less than $1 a day and all of these conditions contribute to a cycle of poverty.  It was evident that the greatest needs in the DRC are jobs, food, and a way to move goods from one point to another.  Thus the Tifie Transportation Enterprise was born.

The greater Kinshasa area has an estimated population of 12 million.  85% of the food that comes into this area is imported from Europe or South Africa - unaffordable to most of the population.  Tifie decided cassava, the main staple in sub-Saharan Africa, would be purchased from villages up to 525 kilometers outside of the capital city, and transported back to Kinshasa and sold at the markets.  This enterprise was based on creating jobs both in the rural areas and in the city and increasing the supply of low cost food for the general population.  Roads to the villages are nearly impassable so other businesses saw little opportunity to start trade and commerce in these outlying areas leaving villages in extreme poverty.

Tifie began developing relationships with tribal chiefs to purchase cassava and trade relationships in the markets of Kinshasa to sell cassava.   Tifie began training its employees in business management and entrepreneur skills with the goal of turning the day to day operations over to local leadership and fulfilling the mission of Tifie Humanitarian by creating a locally run and operated enterprise.  In April 2008 the enterprise began transporting goods needed by villages and outlying communities, helping villagers increase the size of their cassava farms, purchasing cassava crops for cash, and transporting them back to the markets in Kinshasa and selling them for consumption.  From the original concept in 2007 the Tifie Transportation Enterprise has become one of the largest private transport companies in Kinshasa and a model for other NGO’s.

Tifie Transportation Enterprise directly provides 16 jobs and is growing and indirectly has created 1000’s of jobs in rural villages helping to eliminate poverty.  In 2009 it will move over 4000 tons of food and goods to the rural areas stimulating local markets and infusing $720,000 in cash into village economies by purchasing cassava.  Goods are now transported for Multi-National Corporations, governments, the UN, and local businesses.  Tifie Transportation Enterprise is also responsible for the funding of the youth center/orphanage created by Tifie and its employees are taught to give back.  Tifie Transportation is recognized by the Congolese government for its impact and has been asked to continue to grow and create jobs for the Congolese people and is planning for significant growth in 2010.