She’s a business owner with heart, thanks to Amazon’s Delivery Service Partner Program in South Gate

From a young age, Katia Daher-Anenberg has had a passion for aiding marginalized groups. When it came time to look for a new career venture, Daher-Anenberg made a list of her needs: Her parents were aging, and she was raising two teenagers at the time, so the business must offer her autonomy and a flexible schedule. And it had to align with her values of love and respect and her commitment to helping others. “I was thinking about what I could do to make the greatest impact,” she recalls.

Then, her lightbulb moment: She could start a business that focused on creating accessible local job opportunities for members of her community – a for-profit company, with nonprofit values.

Enter Amazon and its Delivery Service Partner program. With her life-changing experience as an immigrant, a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree in sustainable international development from Brandeis, and a lifetime of volunteer work as her foundation, she became a first-time entrepreneur at 49.

Hands-on ownership

Amazon’s Delivery Service Partner program is designed to empower leaders who want to launch and operate their own Amazon logistics business. Hands-on owners hire and motivate a team of up to 100 delivery associates as they load packages into their vehicles and deliver them to customers’ homes and businesses.

With access to tools and mentorship from Amazon, DSPs can hit the ground running to build an evolving business and ensure a safe work environment for their associates.

Daher-Anenberg joined the DSP program in May 2020, servicing Amazon’s delivery station in South Gate. She currently employs a staff of 105 delivery associates, most from the South Gate community.

Importantly, as a DSP, she has been able to focus on areas important to her: providing access to jobs in a respectful work environment, access to income and access to skill-building.

“I wanted to give people access to jobs, and today we’ve got over 100 people who have a safe, supportive, kind environment to work in,” she says. “I feel so fortunate to be able to partner with Amazon and get that kind of opportunity to change lives[HL1] .”

Experiences shaped her

Daher-Anenberg’s passion for helping others is rooted in her childhood experiences, growing up in poverty in Beirut, Lebanon, during the country’s civil war. There, she witnessed atrocities that struck her to her core, instilling a lifelong mission to alleviate hunger and suffering.

At 20, she immigrated to the U.S. She spoke no English at the time.

While working on her undergraduate and graduate studies, she volunteered with Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF. She also worked with KIDS FIRST in Berkeley.

“This is where my passion is, and I think aligning with Amazon has been the perfect fit,” she says.

She praises Amazon’s commitment to the safety and needs of her delivery associates. For instance, she says, they offer 5K towards educational for each DA per year. They also recently launched a child care program for drivers.

“We utilize all of the options Amazon makes available for us to opt into,” Daher-Anenberg says. “Amazon is always trying to do better for my drivers. That’s why I feel like my values align with Amazon.”

CEO with a heart

Daher-Anenberg’s relationship with Amazon began as a young undergraduate, ordering her college textbooks online. Today, as an Amazon DSP, that relationship has come full circle.

“I have to be truthful, I love Amazon,” she says. “As a consumer, it provides me with research, it gives me reviews. It’s really customer-focused.”

As a DSP, she receives continuous support and education from Amazon, including a business coach who is focused on helping her improve and grow her business.

“I never knew that I was actually a good businessperson,” she says. “Now I have a strong culture and strong vision of how I would like to conduct my business.”

Her role today, she says, is “like a CEO, but with heart. Meaning I talk to our managers constantly about professionalism, about hospitality, about always treating others with respect.”

Apply to be an Amazon Delivery Service Partner and start making a difference in your community.