Brick Making Enterprise: In the city of Kinshasa, Tifie identified a need for affordable building materials. In Congo, the most common building materials are brick and mortar. Brick prices start at $2 per brick. As materials for building simple structures, it simply wasn’t affordable.

Tifie identified an enterprise that reduced the cost of brick and mortar significantly. First, Tifie designed new interlocking brick technology. With this technology the need for mortar was cut in half. How much did Tifie's design impact cost? Tifie decreased the price per brick to less than $.90 and the need for mortar by 50%. The result of innovation is demand and jobs.

The Tifie brick business enterprise began in January of 2009 and sold 2000 bricks. In October of 2009 Tifie sold over 25,000 bricks. The demand for bricks is three times more than current production capacity but Tifie is actively pursuing solutions to expand the enterprise with more brick manufacturing machines.

The brick business sustains the Tifie initiative to provide and improve universal education. Tifie enterprises gives back to charitable organizations once the enterprise becomes profitable. A school was adopted in the the village of Mosabo. This school was remodelded with the bricks and a percent of the monthly profits goes to supporting the schools operational needs. Tifie bricks are building communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo: community centers, schools and homes. Providing protection and safety, these simple structures are improving the lives of hundreds of Congolese people.