From Dishwasher to Millionaire, Tashitaa Tufaa Achieves American Dream

Minneapolis Entrepreneur, Tashitaa Tufaa

American Dream is alive and well for African immigrant entrepreneur, Tashitaa Tufaa

Tufaa is the founder and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Network (MTN), a contract school bus service provider. MTN is headquartered in Fridley, Minneapolis and public records indicate that the company employs and it made a revenue of $16million in 2019.

Tufaa is an African success story. He is an embodiment of the American dream and is also the recipient of several awards for his entrepreneurial accomplishments. He received the 2012 Entrepreneurship Award from the Metropolitan Economic Development Association in Minneapolis for his business entrepreneurship, celebrating a diverse, multicultural workforce with more than 300 fleet buses that transport 15,000 children from schools in the Minneapolis, St. Cloud, and Sauk Rapids school districts. He was also the 2018/2019 Outstanding Refugee award recipient from the Minnesota Department of Human Resources.

When Tashitaa came to the United States as a political asylee in 1992 from Ethiopia, he worked long hours as a dishwasher and factory worker to support his family, earning small paychecks that sometimes weren’t enough.

“To do a business, you need to face a challenge. You can’t start a business if there is a luxury,” Tufaa told.

Once a schoolteacher and political activist in the Negele Arsi district in Ethiopia, Tufaa worked three jobs in the US while earning a master’s degree in political science and international relations from the University of Minnesota. He then worked for the Minneapolis Housing Authority.

Over the years, he worked as a dishwasher earning $5.65 an hour at the Hilton Hotel, to a security guard and taxi driver.

“As a result, I fell in love with transportation and I call myself an addicted driver,” Tufaa said.

“I think my biggest accomplishment was to find opportunities to provide the services necessary for customers. The challenges that I faced in the past made me stronger. My family comes from a farming background, and we lived in a challenging environment, working eight-plus hours a day.

“I don’t complain, and I take advantage of opportunities. Look at your environment as a positive thing. Look at the people who empower you. Surround yourself with people who are better than you.”