Transport modernization for Liberia's Two-Wheel and Tricycle Market
Case study overview
A balanced equity strategy that delivered steady returns worldwide.
- Rider and vehicle registration portal successfully launched
- Members onboarded through paid digital registration
- Foundational operator data established before official licensing
- Registration designed for riders, vehicles and vehicle owners
- Phased pathway created for licensing and identification cards
- Digital payment and operating-zone capabilities incorporated by design
- Future monitoring and enforcement workflows mapped
- Government and association cooperation subsequently formalised
An essential industry operating without sufficient visibility
Motorcycles and tricycles provide livelihoods, passenger mobility and access to communities that conventional transport services cannot always reach. For many Liberians, they are an indispensable part of everyday economic and social life.
However, the fragmented and largely informal nature of the sector made it difficult to determine who was operating, which vehicles were active, where operators were authorised to work or whether required registrations and fees had been completed.
Historical sector research identified very low levels of formal licensing, limited centralised data, inconsistent enforcement, unsafe operating practices and unclear institutional responsibilities. Authorities and industry associations therefore lacked the reliable information needed to regulate the market fairly and support responsible operators.
The programme needed to introduce structure without disrupting the livelihoods and mobility services upon which communities depended.
Adecore Corporate Advisory working across policy and technology
Adecore worked with Tuma Enterprises and NAFOMTAL to translate the sector’s regulatory and operational requirements into a practical modernisation roadmap.
Instead of attempting to introduce every capability simultaneously, we structured the programme in phases. The first priority was establishing a reliable record of participating riders, owners and vehicles through a digital registration portal.
This created the foundation upon which official licensing, operating zones, identification, digital collections, fleet visibility and enforcement coordination could progressively be introduced.
Adecore’s role extended beyond technology design. We helped align the interests of the association, local delivery partner, public authorities, law-enforcement stakeholders and transport operators around a programme that could be implemented within Liberia’s operating environment.
Establishing the registration foundation
The first phase introduced a portal through which motorcycle and tricycle participants could create a verified membership record and pay their registration fee.
The platform accommodated different relationships within the sector:
- Riders operating vehicles they owned
- Riders operating vehicles belonging to others
- Owners registering vehicles for hire
- Participants registering as drivers before adding a vehicle
This was particularly important because ownership and daily operation do not always sit with the same person.
The registration portal was successfully launched, and members began completing paid registrations before the introduction of official licensing. This allowed the programme to begin building the sector’s digital foundation without waiting for every subsequent regulatory component to be completed.
Creating a pathway to formal licensing
Registration was designed as the beginning of the formalisation process—not its conclusion.
The next phases provided for registered operators to progress towards official licence records, membership identification and approved operating zones. Physical identification could then be connected to the corresponding digital record, making it easier to confirm the status of an operator or vehicle.
This structure was intended to help authorities distinguish registered, compliant participants from unidentified operators while giving legitimate members a clearer route into the regulated economy.
Digitising payments and collections
The proposed infrastructure allowed registration and service payments to be processed digitally through supported banking and mobile-money channels.
Digitising these collections would reduce dependence on informal cash handling, create transaction records and improve visibility over association and regulatory revenues.
It would also allow payments to be associated with a specific rider, owner, vehicle or service—providing a more accountable basis for future licensing, renewal and operating-zone collections.
Designing for operational oversight
The wider programme included a proposed operations centre through which authorised stakeholders could view registrations, vehicles, payments, service requests and operational alerts.
Later phases contemplated controlled operating zones and geofencing. Under this model, an operator working outside an approved area could be identified, prompted to regularise the journey and, where necessary, referred to the appropriate enforcement unit.
These capabilities were designed as future phases and were not presented as part of the initial registration launch. Their inclusion demonstrated how the programme could evolve from a membership portal into a coordinated transport-management environment.
Connecting regulation with safer services
Formalisation was also intended to support better safety and service standards.
The programme roadmap included mechanisms for recording professional conduct, recognising responsible operators and identifying matters such as unsafe driving, speeding or repeated non-compliance. Future passenger and merchant services could enable ride requests, deliveries and vehicle-hire opportunities through registered participants.
The objective was not merely to monitor the sector. It was to create an environment in which compliant operators could gain greater legitimacy, access new earning opportunities and participate in a more trusted transport network.
Building institutional coordination
Technology alone could not resolve the sector’s challenges. Successful implementation required a clear relationship between the industry association, government authorities and enforcement agencies.
The application agreement established NAFOMTAL’s role in operator participation and Tuma Enterprises’ role in delivering and maintaining the platform, with Adecore supporting the broader programme and technology architecture.
This industry-led foundation was later complemented by a memorandum between the Government of Liberia and NAFOMTAL covering registration, tax compliance, public safety and coordinated enforcement.
Result: From informal participation to an identifiable transport community
The first phase successfully delivered a working registration portal through which participating members could register and make payments before formal licences were issued.
This established:
- An initial digital record of participating operators
- A mechanism for paid member registration
- A clearer relationship between riders, owners and vehicles
- A foundation for future licensing and identification
- A pathway towards digital collections and revenue visibility
- A structure capable of supporting coordinated enforcement
The programme also demonstrated the value of sequencing reform carefully. Registration provided the data foundation; licensing could establish formal authority; and later monitoring and service capabilities could strengthen compliance, safety and commercial participation.
In February 2023, the Government of Liberia and NAFOMTAL formalised cooperation around registration, public safety, tax compliance and joint enforcement activities. Subsequent multi-agency registration and compliance initiatives illustrate the continuing importance of coordinated oversight across Liberia’s motorcycle and tricycle market.
Our role: Corporate advisory and technology working as one
Adecore helped convert a complex, fragmented transport challenge into an implementable programme.
We brought together programme design, institutional alignment, commercial structuring and technology architecture to:
- Translate regulatory objectives into practical operating workflows
- Define a phased implementation roadmap
- Structure rider, owner and vehicle registration processes
- Connect registration with payments and future licensing
- Design oversight and enforcement capabilities
- Support collaboration between local and public stakeholders
- Preserve the livelihood and service value of the sector
The result was more than a registration portal. It was the beginning of an infrastructure model through which an essential informal transport economy could become increasingly visible, accountable and investable.
Creating the foundation for future mobility
A trusted register of operators and vehicles can support far more than enforcement. It can help create the conditions for insurance, vehicle finance, maintenance services, electric-vehicle adoption, safer passenger services and new investment in transport infrastructure.
By beginning with identity, registration and participation, the programme created a practical foundation for Liberia to modernise the sector progressively—protecting its economic contribution while improving institutional visibility, public safety and service quality.
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How intelligence
becomes impact
Understand Reality
We look beyond the immediate brief to understand the wider system, its evidence, stakeholders, constraints, dependencies and human consequences. We begin with reality, not a predetermined answer.
Make Evidence Visible
We distinguish what is known, inferred, assumed and still uncertain. This gives decision-makers the clarity to act with confidence grounded in evidence, not confidence alone.
Define the Better Future
We establish the outcome worth pursuing and the impact it must create. Human, economic, institutional and environmental consequences shape our work from the beginning.
Structure Responsibility
We align governance, capital, commercial logic, decision rights, risk and ownership. Ambition becomes executable when responsibility is clear and commitments can be honoured.
Integrate Capability
We assemble advisory, technology, research, delivery and strategic partners around the outcome. The client experiences one accountable institution, not a collection of disconnected services.
Execute with Accountability
We turn decisions into operating capability, building systems, deploying infrastructure and delivering programmes while keeping progress, risk, evidence and responsibility visible.
Measure what Matters
We measure more than activity or commercial return. We examine whether people benefit, institutions become stronger, economies gain capability and resources are stewarded responsibly.
Leave Capability Behind
We transfer the knowledge, ownership, systems and confidence required for the work to endure. Our responsibility is to leave every institution more capable than we found it.