Topic “FOMIN”
Port-au-Prince -Investment Forum Nov 29-30,2011
Le Gouvernement d'Haïti, la Banque Interaméricaine de Développement, et la Fondation Clinton sont heureux d’annoncer la deuxième édition du Forum «Invest in Haiti» au Centre de Conférence Karibe à Port-au-Prince, Haïti, les 29 et 30 novembre 2011.
SEM Michel Martelly, Président d’Haïti, Monsieur Luis Alberto Moreno Président de la BID et Monsieur le Président William J. Clinton, seront présents pour l’occasion.
Le Forum “Invest in Haiti” a pour objectif de présenter et promouvoir les opportunités d’affaires accessibles et rentables qu’offre Haïti, particulièrement dans les secteurs du textile, du tourisme, de l’industrie agroalimentaire et des infrastructures. Ce 2e Forum des investisseurs est l’occasion d’inviter des personnalités évoluant dans le monde des affaires internationales afin de les informer sur les opportunités d’investissement existantes et de leur permettre de rencontrer des partenaires haïtiens, des clients et fournisseurs locaux et de discuter avec des fonctionnaires des aspects réglementaires clés, afin de conclure et réaliser ces projets d’investissements. La BID agira en tant que facilitateur de partenariats bilatéraux avec des associés potentiels.
Cet événement est sur invitation uniquement. Pour plus d´informations, veuillez contacter à investinhaitiforum@gmail.com
http://investinhaitiforum.com/index.html
IDB President Moreno to visit Haiti Nov. 28-29
IDB President Moreno to visit Haiti Nov. 28-29
Schedule includes events on roads, industrial park and investment with Presidents Martelly and Clinton
Inter-American Development Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno will travel to Haiti next week to highlight the Caribbean country’s efforts to recover from the 2010 earthquake and invest in its long-term development.
On Monday, November 28, Moreno will meet President Michel Martelly for a highway inauguration ceremony and the launch of a road safety campaign on RN1, Haiti’s principal roadway. The event, scheduled to start at 9 am, will take place at the sports complex of cement company CINA, north of Port-au-Prince.
The IDB, which funded the rehabilitation of an 80-km stretch of RN1, is partnering with several Haitian government agencies, international organizations and local and foreign companies to carry out a pilot road safety campaign to reduce traffic accidents on one of the country’s most heavily traveled roads.
From that location Presidents Martelly and Moreno will fly to the site of the Caracol Industrial Park in northeastern Haiti, where they will join President Bill Clinton in a ground breaking ceremony for the facilities to be built with IDB and USAID funding . The event is scheduled to start at 11:30 am.
The new industrial park, which will be owned by the Haitian state, is expected to host manufacturing companies involved in different activities. Korean textile company Sae-A, which plans to eventually hire 20,000 workers, is slated to be the facility’s first tenant.
On Tuesday, November 29, Presidents Martelly, Clinton and Moreno will host the Invest in Haiti Forum, which will bring together more than 600 participants from local and foreign companies, international organizations and the Haitian government. The conference, scheduled to begin at 9 am, will take place at the Hotel Karibe convention center in Port-au-Prince.
The IDB is Haiti’s leading multilateral donor, with a $1 billion portfolio of projects in sectors such as transportation, energy, agriculture, water and sanitation and education. The IDB is also promoting private sector development through projects to attract investments, expand access to credit for small businesses and improve Haiti’s business climate.
Report: weak dollar, inflation blunting purchasing power of remittances
Report: weak dollar, inflation blunting purchasing power of remittances
After stabilizing in 2010, money transfers to Latin America and the Caribbean are poised to rise this year, according to the MIF
Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean are likely to rise this year after stabilizing during 2010, although a weaker dollar and higher inflation are reducing their purchasing power in many countries, according to the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF).
Measured in U.S. dollars, money transfers made by Latin American and Caribbean migrants to their countries of origin reached $58.9 billion in 2010, virtually unchanged from $58.8 billion in 2009, when remittances saw a 15 percent drop due to the effects of the global economic crisis, the MIF said in a report released Monday.
“Remittances remain a vital source of income for millions of families in the region who depend on these flows to cover the cost of basic needs such as clothing, medicine or food,” the report noted. “For many of these recipient families, 2010 was a year of increased economic vulnerability, since with stronger local currency values and rising inflation, the remittances they received did not reach the same value of the previous year.”
Last year’s total was significantly below the record $69.2 billion reached in 2008. Expatriates started sending less money home during the second half of 2008, a trend that accelerated over the following year as the countries where most of them work (the United States, Spain and Japan) fell into recessions caused by the global financial crisis.
However, during 2010 remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean started to stabilize and even rise, albeit with significant differences among subregions. Money transfers to Central America recovered 3.1 percent, as migrants’ employment and earnings prospects improved in the United States. In contrast, remittances to Andean countries fell 4.1 percent, reflecting the prolonged economic malaise in European nations where many of their expatriates reside.
Haiti saw the sharpest increase in the region, a 20 percent jump to almost $2 billion, as its Diaspora responded to the humanitarian crisis caused by last year’s earthquake. Brazil registered the biggest drop, a 15 percent decrease to $4 billion, largely attributable to its continued strong economic performance, which has given Brazilian migrants a powerful incentive to return home.
Mexico remained the region’s leading recipient of remittances at $21.3 billion, a very slight increase from 2009. Guatemala is now the second largest recipient, at $4.1 billion, after recording a 5 percent rise last year. [For more country-by-country data, see the MIF’s 2010 remittances map.]
Going forward, the report added, remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean are likely to continue rising in volume in 2011, although still below the double-digit rates they attained in years prior to the global crisis. The pace of growth will depend principally on how strongly the job markets in source countries such as the United States and Spain recover.
Currency Appreciation and Inflation
The value of remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean was strongly affected by the appreciation of most local currencies against the U.S. dollar and the euro during 2010. On a weighted average, money transfers to this region were worth 4.4 percent less than in 2009 due to currency fluctuations, but in some countries the effect was even more pronounced. In Brazil, the decrease was 22.3 percent when taking into account the appreciation of the real. In Colombia, the value of remittances dropped 12.5 percent; in Mexico 7 percent.
Rising inflation further eroded the purchasing power of money transfers in many countries in the region. Expressed in local currencies and adjusted for inflation, remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean were 8.7 percent lower in 2010 than in 2009. Again, the effect of inflation on remittances varied from country to country, with the largest decreases recorded in some Caribbean countries.
Remittances and the MIF
The Multilateral Investment Fund started studying remittances in the year 2000 to gauge their impact in Latin America and the Caribbean. At the time, these flows were largely overlooked by governments and international agencies. The MIF’s research uncovered their real magnitude, generating greater awareness about their economic and social importance.
The MIF worked to foster competition among money transfer operators in order to reduce the cost of these services. Over the past decade fees charged for remittances to most Latin American and Caribbean countries have fallen substantially. The MIF is currently focused on projects that use remittances as a tool to “bank the unbanked” in order to offer migrants and their families access to formal financial services
Report Underlines Value of Private Investment in Securing Haiti’s Growth
News Releases
Jan 28, 2011
Report Underlines Value of Private Investment in Securing Haiti’s Growth
- World Economic Forum launches new report: Private Sector Development in Haiti: Opportunities for Investment, Job Creation and Growth
- Haiti can achieve sustainable growth with the support of international private sector
- Businesses should consider investment opportunities in Haiti
- More information on the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2011: http://www.weforum.org
DAVOS-KLOSTERS, Switzerland– Haiti can achieve GDP growth of 6-8% over the next decade, if the right public policies are put in place, the national and international private sector become increasingly engaged, and support from the international community is sustained. This is the finding of the World Economic Forum’s Private Sector Development in Haiti: Opportunities for Investment, Job Creation and Growth, launched today in partnership with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
“Despite the challenges, Haiti possesses the economic fundamentals to experience sustained growth. However it cannot achieve it alone. The private sector played an important role and innovative role in supporting humanitarian assistance to Haiti right after the earthquake and now it has an equally important role to play in helping Haiti achieve an accelerated economic trajectory,” says Robert Greenhill, Managing Director and Chief Business Officer, World Economic Forum. “The World Economic Forum hopes this joint paper will lead more companies to consider the investment opportunities presented in Haiti.”
The report outlines opportunities for businesses in Haiti and measures taken to encourage private sector engagement such as the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). SEZS are areas identified by the government as fast-track zones for commercial development, to be equipped with the infrastructure and regulatory framework to attract business. The World Bank and IFC are actively engaged with the Haitian government to improve its investment climate.
"The World Bank Group remains committed to helping Haiti catalyze private investment and improve the business environment. We are convinced that the private sector is essential for Haiti’s long-term development, to create jobs and help the country break its dependence on aid," said IFC’s CEO and Executive Vice President Lars Thunell. "This joint paper highlights the opportunities and challenges in improving Haiti's investment climate, in particular business regulation, access to basic infrastructure, logistic and financial services and access to skills. Multilateral banks, donors, the Government of Haiti and the private sector should develop the framework that will address these challenges."
The report outlines specific areas where the private sector can become involved, highlighting opportunities in construction and infrastructure development, agriculture, manufacturing, finance, tourism, and energy. A specific example from the manufacturing sector is the IDB’s recent announcement of its support along with the US government of a US$ 250 million deal to develop an industrial park in the north that is expected to generate as many as 65,000 jobs.
“Haiti has countless needs, but what it desperately requires to climb out of poverty is more jobs,” said IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno. “Our goal is to persuade several companies from diverse industrial sectors to set up shop in the north, not only to boost employment and economic activity outside of Port-au-Prince, but also to change common risk perceptions about Haiti, so that many more investors may follow them.”
Finally, the report highlights examples of how international businesses are actively engaged in mutually beneficial partnerships designed to help grow Haiti’s economy. Under a public-private partnership structured by the IFC, Haiti’s government and central bank (Banque de la République d’Haiti –BRH) signed an agreement with Vietnam’s largest mobile telephone operator Viettel for $99 million. The agreement has led Viettel to commit significant investments, including the construction of Haiti’s first nation wide fibre optic backbone.
Case studies include:
- Haiti Hope: The Coca-Cola Company’s Haiti Hope project which is taking a holistic approach to realizing the full potential of mangos in Haiti’s recovery. Launched in September 2010, the project aims to double the income of 25,000 Haitian mango farmers over five years. It is a partnership between The Coca-Cola Company, the IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), USAID, and TechnoServe, with the support of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and other international and local actors.
- Mobile Money: Mobile phone operators Voila and Digicel each have launched mobile banking services that maximize NGO resources, bolster reconstruction efforts, and provide Haiti’s “unbanked” population access to financial services. Though 85% of Haitian households have access to a cell phone, there are only two banks for every 100,000 people in the country. Mobile Money products will enable Haitians to transfer money domestically and internationally and complete commercial transactions wirelessly, including using their cell phone to purchase food and non-food items from a network of affiliated merchants throughout the country. Voila, Haiti-based Unibank, and the international aid agency Mercy Corps have joined together to launch a mobile banking service called T-Cash that offers beneficiaries of Mercy Corps’s cash programme the opportunity to receive and make payments using their Voila phones. Digicel and Canada’s Scotiabank have partnered to create Tcho Tcho Mobile, which offers mobile banking services that will enable users to perform cash withdrawals, deposits, and transfers through their mobile phone.
- Catastrophic Micro-insurance: The millions of small-scale traders who make up the informal sector in Haiti are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. To address this challenge, Swiss Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurers, has formed a partnership with Caribbean Risk Managers Limited, Guy Carpenter Micro Risk Solutions, and Haiti’s largest microfinance institution, Fonkoze, to design a micro-insurance scheme for catastrophes in Haiti. The project will allow highly vulnerable Haitians to protect themselves from natural disasters at reasonable cost.
- YY Haiti: YY Haiti – an initiative of the Grameen Creative Lab, the Yunus Centre, and SAP AG – intends to create the infrastructure and provide the skills needed for social businesses in Haiti. YY Haiti is a fund investing in social businesses in Haiti and also providing appropriate business training. YY Haiti functions as a self-sustainable social business that is financed through the management fees earned from the social businesses in which it invests. Once the social businesses have returned their initial investment, the fund re-invests this money into new social businesses. Initial social business investments include a cocoa processing plant and an eco-hotel in Cap Haitien. Another 14 social businesses are currently in the due diligence process.
The report concludes by calling upon the international private sector to realize its potential to improve the situation by investing in Haiti stressing that despite clear challenges profitable investment opportunities exist today in Haiti, and increased private sector engagement today will create further investment opportunities in the future.
This report has benefited from a broad multistakeholder steering committee that features representatives from the Haitian and international private sector, international organizations, NGOs, and multiple governments demonstrating extensive support for Haiti’s potential for a prosperous future.
Le MIF accorde une subvention de 4 millions d´USD pour la formation de jeunes à Haïti
Communiqués de presse
19 janv. 2011
Le MIF accorde une subvention de 4 millions d´USD pour la formation de jeunes à Haïti
Il s´agît d´un projet en collaboration avec des ONG, des fondations et des agences de développement
Le Fonds multilatéral d´investissement (MIF) de la Banque interaméricaine de développement (BID) a annoncé l´approbation d´une subvention de 4 millions de dollars US destinée à un programme visant la formation de quelques 9000 chômeurs et jeunes haïtiens non étudiants.
Le projet d´Académie de reconstruction pour jeunes d´Haïti (d´une durée de 4 ans), dont le coût estimé s´élèverait à 9,3 millions d´USD, sera dirigé par l´ONG haïtienne IDEJEN. Sont aussi des partenaires pour ce projet : la Fondation MasterCard, le Fonds Clinton-Bush pour Haïti, l´Agence de développement international des Etats-Unis (USAID), Education Development Center et Catholic Relief Services (Secours Catholique).
Le projet offrira à des jeunes des deux sexes d´entre 15 à 24 ans six mois de formation professionnelle, un tutorat, des cours de développement personnel et une formation intensive en alphabétisation et mathématiques. YouthBuild International, une ONG nord-américaine comptant avec une longue expérience dans la formation professionnelle de jeunes adultes chômeurs, assistera le projet lors de sa planification et exécution.
Les apprentis recevront des bourses en échange de leur participation à des travaux de reconstruction tels que réparation de maisons, écoles ou centres sanitaires. Afin de promouvoir les compétences d´une gestion financière responsable, le projet prévoit aussi d´offrir deux dollars pour chaque dollar économisé sur un compte épargne, compte qu´ils ne seront en mesure d´utiliser qu´une fois la formation finie.
Le projet établira par ailleurs des partenariats avec des gouvernements locaux, des entreprises et des organisations non gouvernementales pour le recrutement des conseillers ainsi que pour la recherche de stages et postes d´emploi pour les élèves. Une fois la formation achevée, IDEJEN effectuera un suivi des étudiants pendant six mois, leur fournissant par là même des conseils sur leur carrière professionnelle, une éducation complémentaire ou de l´aide pour lancer leur propre affaire.
De plus le projet compte financer l´amélioration des installations, des équipements et opérations des 12 centres communautaires où les cours auront lieu. Les manuels d´apprentissage et les outils de supervision/évaluation développés pour le projet seront mis en place par l´Institut national de formation professionnelle du Ministère haïtien d´éducation.
Le MIF, qui fait partie du Groupe de la Banque interaméricaine de développement, promeut la croissance économique et la réduction de la pauvreté à travers le secteur privé, se centrant notamment sur les petites et moyennes entreprises. Depuis le séisme de 2010 le MIF a approuvé plus de 16 millions de dollars US pour des projets d´appui pour Haïti visant la création d´emploi et de revenus.
From rags to fashion
Features and Web Stories
Jan 19, 2011
From rags to fashion
MIF helps Haitian non-profit lead small garment makers to higher value markets
Hans Garoute is obsessed with Vietnam. If that Asian nation, which until relatively recently had no textile industry to speak of, can fashion $400 suits, why is his own country, Haiti, despite its long tradition of sewing, focused on cheap T-shirts?
Garoute, who learnt all about the garment industry working as a buyer for a U.S. department store, and his long-time business partner, Jean Robert Lebrun, a former banker and clothing manufacturer, run INDEPCO (an acronym for Institut National pour le Développment et la Promotion de la Couture, French for National Institute for the Development and Promotion of Fashion).
Founded in 1992 as a non-profit, INDEPCO wears many hats. Fundamentally, it is a network of hundreds of ateliers, small workshops that produce clothing and other sewn goods for local and foreign clients. The organization pools orders, buys material in bulk, cuts fabric and distributes work among ateliers, helping them achieve economies of scale even though most have fewer than 10 sewing machines. With 600 members in 32 cities, INDEPCO also gives a voice to small businesses in Haiti’s garment sector, where large companies often have thousands of employees.
INDEPCO is also a training institute dedicated to upgrading the skills of atelier owners, supervisors and workers, giving them tools to climb up the textile value chain. That is what Vietnam did, Garoute assures, obtaining technical assistance from France to build a formidable garment industry.
However, to reach that stage, Haiti must overcome many obstacles. The 2010 earthquake destroyed entire factories, killed countless workers and crippled the country’s economy. One of INDEPCO’s buildings in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Delmas collapsed, crushing much of its equipment. A second building suffered major damage, and looters took whatever they could find among the rubble.
Back in business
INDEPCO managed to rescue some equipment, including several old but dependable industrial sewing machines. One week after the quake, they reopened for business in a shed belonging to a neighboring school furniture manufacturer. The first big order, for thousands of vests, came from Digicel, Haiti’s leading mobile communications provider. That request allowed dozens of INDEPCO members to get back to work.
Shortly after, the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), which had supported INDEPCO in 1999 with a $370,000 grant for a three-year institutional strengthening program, approved $180,000 in emergency funds to help them replace lost equipment and rent a new plant.
“From past experiences with natural disasters, we knew that one the best things we could do was to help Haiti get people back to work as quickly as possible,” said MIF senior specialist Maria Teresa Villanueva, who coordinated the agency’s earthquake response.
To that end, the MIF approved over $1.8 million in emergency grants to local organizations and other partners with which it has worked over the years in Haiti, including some of the leading microfinance institutions.
The MIF also connected INDEPCO with the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, which in July made a $245,000 grant for working capital and to help them recondition and rewire their new 13,000 sq ft plant, where they were able to accommodate some members who had lost their workshops.
And in recognition for Garoute’s efforts on behalf of INDEPCO’s members since the earthquake, in January Digicel named him Haitian Entrepreneur of the Year.
Eyeing niches
From its new, more spacious facility close to Port-au-Prince’s airport, INDEPCO hopes to expand beyond the local market for government, corporate and school uniforms. With an eye on niche markets, it is training more members in beading and embroidering items from clothing to placemats, computer cases and handbags.
“Besides the big retail chains, the United States has a huge market of boutique stores that aren’t interested in carrying the same items as department stores. That’s the segment we have to go for,” says Garoute, who as a younger man imported Brazilian beachwear and lingerie to the United States following exactly that line of reasoning.
In his vision, Haiti must graduate from assembling low-cost items for foreign buyers to a stage where local companies can design, cut, sew, finish, pack and sell clothing, reaping a greater portion of product value.
To achieve that goal, INDEPCO seeks to build on Haiti’s sewing tradition. For as long as Garoute and Lebrun can remember, Haitians without prospects of becoming lawyers, doctors, teachers or engineers learned how to sew. Therefore, there are potentially hundreds of thousands of people with basic skills to work in the textile industry. The challenge is taking their abilities from an artisanal level to an industrial one.
INDEPCO assists its members in the process, training them in the techniques of mass production and quality control so they can participate in filling large volume orders punctually. “Even if they aren’t using industrial equipment, they are using industrial techniques to keep down costs and ensure standardized quality, which you can’t do if you make pieces one by one,” says Lebrun.
Garoute feels strongly that Haitians are not taking full advantage of their creative talent to produce fashion. “Couture is art, and we have always been good at art. But we have never translated it into fashion,” he says.
Strong motivations
A key aspect of INDEPCO’s mission is to build up members’ confidence. Garoute, who attended New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, travels around Haiti to hold assemblies with hundreds of participants. “You’re no different from Pierre Cardin or Calvin Klein,” he tells them. “They’re all tailors, just like you!”
Lebrun prefers a pull-yourselves-up-by-your-own-bootstraps message: INDEPCO will help its members if they help themselves. “There’s business in your own city, so go out there and get it, or someone else will take it,” he says.
The partners also have diverging opinions on the issue of imported second-hand clothing, which literally lines the streets of every Haitian town. “The true industry of this country has been left alone to fend against a flood of cheap clothes donated by well-meaning people,” Garoute rails. Lebrun, noting that thousands upon thousands of poor Haitians sell used garments for a living, says ateliers should ride the tide: “These are damaged goods, but you can repair or improve them, and sell them at your own stores.”
Looking to the future, INDEPCO aspires to become a federation with business hubs in every major Haitian city, providing services to clusters of ateliers around the country. “It would also help decentralize an industry that’s concentrated in Port-au-Prince,” says Lebrun. “If people in Gonaïves use uniforms, why do they have to be made in the capital?”
Garoute describes their dream in grander terms: “If we succeed, we could be starting a silent economic revolution, linking thousands of small businesses to major markets.”
Visit:
http://www.iadb.org/features-and-web-stories/2011-01/english/from-rags-to-fashion-9026.html
FOMIN and Fonkoze in CNN- Remittances to Haiti
Sharing a video (in Spanish) of a interview made by CNN in Spanish to our partners Fonkoze and the MIF specialist in remittances Natalia Bajuk.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/spanish/2011/01/14/ef.remesas.haiti.intv.cnn
BID annonce décaissement record de US$176 millions pour Haïti en 2010
BID annonce décaissement record de US$176 millions pour Haïti en 2010
- Chiffre s'élève à US$ 199,5 millions lorsque les contributions de tiers et coopérations techniques non-remboursables de sont inclus.
- Réponse au tremblement de terre se traduit en plus de ressources dans des domaines clés comme l'éducation, le transport, l'appui budgétaire et les services de base.
La Banque interaméricaine de développement a déboursé une somme record d’US$ 176 millions à Haïti en 2010, y compris les dépenses pour la reconstruction des écoles, le soutien budgétaire et d'autres services de base dévastés par le tremblement de terre. Les décaissements de la BID ont été plus que toute autre source d’aide multilatérale à Haïti depuis la tragédie du tremblement de terre le 12 janvier 2010.
En plus de ce montant record, la BID dans les prochaines semaines versera une subvention d’US$ 15 millions d'urgence pour soutenir la lutte contre le choléra en Haïti, somme approuvée le 15 décembre par le Conseil d'administration de la BID. L’opération anti-choléra de la Banque est couplée avec une subvention d’US$ 5 millions de l'Espagne pour une somme totale d’US$ 20 millions.
La BID a déboursé US$ 132 millions en 2009.
La BID a également fourni des subventions non remboursables de coopérations techniques d’US$ 6,5 millions, dont US$ 1,5 millions pour améliorer la survie des enfants et des programmes de protection sociale. Haïti a obtenu un montant additionnel d’US$ 17 millions en décaissements du gouvernement du Canada, l'UE et l'OPEP à travers des projets opérés par la BID. Tout l’ensemble, subventions de la BID, subventions de coopérations techniques et les décaissements des tiers s’élève jusqu'à $ 199,5 pour Haïti par le biais de divers mécanismes de la BID.
«Ces ressources montrent que la BID et ses pays membres font un effort concerté pour aider Haïti au moment de la pire catastrophe pour un pays de l’histoire contemporaine. Nous sommes reconnaissants à nos actionnaires pour leur soutien ", a déclaré le président de la BID, Luis Alberto Moreno. «Étant donné l'ampleur de la dévastation, l'argent seul ne fera pas le travail. Dans l’avenir, nous allons augmenter notre personnel travaillant exclusivement sur Haïti à près de 50, nous mettant ainsi dans une bonne position pour mener à bien notre programme d'investissement ambitieux. "
Les décaissements record se déroulent au même temps que BID approuve un montant sans précédent d’US$ 251 millions sous forme de subventions pour Haïti en 2010, comparé à US$ 122 millions en 2009. Les niveaux élevés d'approbation annonces des décaissements potentiellement plus importants en 2011.
En plus de son décaissement des subventions sans précédent en 2010, la BID a accepté d'annuler la dette en cours d’Haïti d’US$ 484 millions, et de convertir les sommes non-décaissées d’US$ 144 millions en subventions. Depuis 2007, Haïti a reçu que des subventions de la BID, le plus grand bailleur de fonds multilatéral pour Haïti.
Dans l'avenir, d’après la neuvième augmentation générale de capital (GCI-9 d’après les sigles en anglais) la BID s'est engagée à fournir US$ 200 millions en subventions par année jusqu'en 2020, en plus d’une allocation supplémentaire du Fonds d’opérations spéciales d’US$ 137 millions. Cela porte l'aide totale dans le pays jusqu'en 2020 à US$ 2,3 milliards pour la reconstruction du pays et le développement. Avant le tremblement de terre, en 2009, Haïti a reçu des approbations de l’ordre d’US$ 122 millions.
La BID a travaillé avec la Commission intérimaire pour la reconstruction d’Haïti (CIDH) co-présidé par le président Bill Clinton et le premier ministre Jean-Max Bellerive. En coordination avec la communauté internationale, la BID se concentre sur six des 14 priorités identifiées dans le plan de développement national d'Haïti: éducation, agriculture, eau et assainissement, transports, énergie et développement du secteur privé.
Le président Moreno a signalé l'immense défi de la reconstruction d'Haïti et a encouragé les bailleurs de fonds à continuer de fournir de l'aide aux pays les plus pauvres de l'hémisphère. "Nous devons éviter la fatigue des bailleurs de fonds», a déclaré le président Moreno. "Il y a cinq ans il était presque inconcevable que nous serions en mesure de décaisser US$ 50 millions par an. Nous sommes maintenant dans l'espoir d'atteindre US$ 200 millions. C'est un défi majeur, car la capacité d'absorption du gouvernement haïtien n'a pas quadruplé. Elle a plutôt diminuée par le tremblement de terre. La Banque travaille pour renforcer les capacités institutionnelles du pays. "
Le renforcement des capacités institutionnelles
La BID a également fourni des ressources pour aider à reconstruire les institutions d'Haïti. Le président Moreno a déclaré que ceci est essentiel pour bâtir une fondation pour que dans l’avenir, Haïti s'engage dans une trajectoire d’auto croissance durable, réduisant ainsi sa dépendance des organisations non-gouvernementales et d'autres institutions internationales. Par exemple, la BID a contribué à renforcer DINEPA, l'autorité locale de l'eau, qui sera en mesure d'acheter plus de chlore, des comprimés de purification d'eau et du savon, grâce à la subvention contre le choléra qui date du 15 décembre.
«Mettre en place des institutions en Haïti est un travail difficile avec très peu d’opportunités photographiques" a déclaré le président Moreno. "Mais c'est le seul moyen de garantir que, dans le long terme, Haïti pourra briser sa dépendance de l'aide internationale."
Après le tremblement de terre, la BID a également réorienté des fonds pour les travaux de reconstruction. Par exemple, une subvention d’US$ 17 millions destinée à l'origine pour reconstruire les écoles détruites par les ouragans de 2008, a été utilisée pour construire des écoles temporaires dans la zone du séisme.
La construction d'écoles permanentes peut prendre près d'un an, et Haïti veut construire plus de 2 500 nouvelles écoles en vertu de son plan de réforme de l'éducation soutenue par la BID. En novembre, la Banque a décaissé les premiers US$ 50 millions de subventions pour ce plan, d'un engagement à fournir US$ 250 millions pour ce secteur en cinq ans.
"Nous devons aider Haïti à créer plus d'emplois», a déclaré le président Moreno. «Nous renforçons le système financier pour débloquer le crédit aux entreprises. Nous construisons des capacités dans les parcs industriels pour attirer plus de fabricants. Nous aidons le gouvernement haïtien à améliorer le climat des affaires pour le commerce et les investisseurs locaux et étrangers. Tout cela est nécessaire pour changer les perspectives à long terme pour Haïti. "
La répartition des décaissements en 2010:
Secteur | Décaissements en 2010 |
Agriculture | 8 651 280 |
Infrastructure de base | 8 054 651 |
Appui budgétaire | 50 000 000 |
Education | 19 566 281 |
Énergie | 2 633 129 |
Santé | 1 126 732 |
Capacités institutionnelles | 1 308 892 |
Catastrophes naturelles | 1 936 937 |
Transports | 63 469 721 |
Réhabilitation urbaine | 6 512 908 |
Eau et assainissement | 12 853 130 |
Total | 176 113 661 |
Nearly $1.5 Million in new grants from the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund
WASHINGTON, DC - The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund today announced nearly $1.5 million in new grants that will further help individuals, families, communities, and enterprises achieve their full potential in post-earthquake Haiti.
With a focus on longer-term reconstruction - especially job creation and the promotion of economic opportunity - the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund continues to work toward a more vibrant, decentralized, inclusive, and competitive economy in which every Haitian has the opportunity to succeed.
The two grants announced today will support Haiti's small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) devastated by the January 12 disaster, provide job training, and make available microcredit loans, while also filling near-term gaps that make long-term reconstruction possible.
FONKOZE
Clinton Bush Haiti Fund's $500,000 grant to Fonkoze will establish a pilot program that creates a network of qualified Haitian business analysts, deploying them throughout Haiti to identify and evaluate promising small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Fonkoze, in partnership with Mercy Corps, The Vincentian Family, DePaul University, the Haitian Hometown Association Resource Group and the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), will help facilitate access to capital for investment-ready enterprises. It will also establish an innovative voucher program providing business development services to enterprises that are investment-worthy, helping them strengthen their business practices and become investment-ready and eligible to access commercial credit. "Clinton Bush Haiti Fund's grant was essential in getting this crucial pilot program off the ground;" said Anne Hastings, Chief Executive Officer, Fonkoze Financial Services, "with their support we'll be able to transition more businesses to the formal sector, increase their ability to get capital, and help establish business practices that will aid in long-term growth."
Fonkoze is the largest microfinance institution in Haiti, serving more than 45,000 female borrowers (most of whom live and work in rural areas) and more than 200,000 depositors. With a network of 42 branches covering every province of Haiti, Fonkoze is the only microfinance institution that is truly national in scope. It is well-positioned to address the pressing need to quickly rebuild Haiti's small and medium-sized business sector, which plays a pivotal role in Haiti's economy and has suffered major devastation. Its website, Zafèn.org, meaning It's Our Business in Haitian Creole, was created to facilitate collaboration between Haiti-based business owners and people interested in supporting the Haitian economy. Zafèn.org provides Haitian SMEs with access to capital through zero-interest loans and grants.
GHESKIO
Clinton Bush Haiti Fund's grant of just under $1 million to Les Centres GHESKIO will help launch a workforce development program that will offer job training for 600 men, women, and youth in construction trades and other marketable skills. The grant will also provide microcredit services to 500 beneficiaries and will help maintain GHESKIO's delivery of key medical and social services to its approximately 7,000 tent city residents.
GHESKIO is a 28-year-old Haitian healthcare organization that was the first research institution in the world dedicated to HIV-AIDS. It also operates the largest tuberculosis clinic in Haiti. Following the earthquake, GHESKIO took on a new role, managing a camp providing shelter and services for displaced Haitians. GHESKIO was the recipient of an initial Clinton Bush Haiti Fund grant of $600,000 in January 2010 to help it meet such emergency humanitarian needs. Funds from the grant announced today will support provision of vocational training, microfinance loans to new and existing small businesses, psycho-social counseling and primary education, as well as the continuation of life-saving health and nutrition services for GHESKIO temporary camp residents.
"We are grateful for the catalytic affect generated by the first grant from the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. The initial investment in GHESKIO's school helped lay a foundation upon which MAC Cosmetics was inspired to build with their own grant for our new Nutrition Services and Training Center," said Dr. Jean Pape, Founder and Executive Director of Les Centres GHESKIO. "This second grant from the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund is well-timed as we take our next step toward transitioning our clients from managing an emergency back to managing their own lives through self-sustaining jobs and transferrable skills."
Source: http://www.clintonbushhaitifund.org/media/entry/new-grants-10122010
With U.S. contribution, IDB cancels Haiti’s remaining debt
Communiqués de presse
30 sept. 2010
Avec la contribution des Etats-Unis, la BID a annulé le restant de la dette Haïtienne
La décision concerne 484 millions d´USD de dette et suppose la conversion de 144 millions d´USD de prêts en subventions
La Banque interaméricaine a annoncé hier l´annulation de la dette d´Haïti envers la BID, laquelle s´élevait à 484 millions d´USD. Cette décision a été prise après que la Banque aie reçu une avance de la contribution des Etats-Unis dédiée aux prêts du Fonds pour les opérations spéciales (FSO) de 204 millions d´USD.
« Nous sommes reconnaissants de cette contribution par les États-Unis, ce qui nous permettra de soulager Haïti de toutes ses obligations de dette envers nous », a déclaré le président de la BID, Luis Alberto Moreno. « Cela permettra de libérer des millions en aide pour le développement à Haïti, sans créer aucune charge future pour un pays qui fait face à d'énormes défis. Il s'agit d'une réaffirmation importante de l'engagement pris par la région et la communauté internationale à un avenir meilleur pour Haïti. »
La BID est le premier donateur multilatéral d´Haïti. En réponse au dévastateur séisme du 12 janvier dernier, le Conseil des gouverneurs avait décidé en mars d´accorder 200 millions d´USD de subventions par an pendant la prochaine décennie (ces montants nécessitent toutefois des approbations annuelles).
Lael Brainard, du département du Trésor du Secrétariat pour les affaires internationales des Etats-Unis : « Les jours qui ont suivi le tremblement de terre, le président Obama a ratifié le compromis intègre et continu qu´à les Etats Unis en faveur de la récupération et de la reconstruction d´Haïti» a dit Brainard. « Ce jour marque une date importante dans nos efforts. Grâce à l´appui décidé du Congrès, les Etats-Unis sont aujourd´hui en train de fournir de l´aide en effectif pour améliorer la vie du peuple Haïtien. »
Haïti a été représenté lors de la cérémonie par son Chef de mission à l´Ambassade Haïtienne, William Exantus.
En cohérence avec l´accord d´augmentation de capital de la BID, le gouvernement des Etats-Unis est en train de contribuer à hauteur de 237,4 millions d´USD pour ce qui est du Fonds pour opérations spéciales. Ce dernier pourvoit en prêts concessionnels aux membres de la Banque qui trouvent les plus grandes difficultés au niveau du développement. Les 204 millions d´USD débloqués le mercredi ont fait possible de procéder à l´annulation de la dette Haïtienne. A travers des mesures précédentes le gouvernement haïtien avait temporellement été exonéré de faire face à sa dette envers la BID.
La contribution permettra aussi à la Banque de convertir en subventions à peu près 144 millions en prêts concessionnels non déboursés approuvés avant 2007 (date à laquelle Haïti est devenu un pays à ne plus recevoir que des subventions). De plus, l´avance du paiement des Etats-Unis laissera disponibles 60 autres millions d´USD pour de nouvelles subventions pour le pays caribéen.
Depuis le séisme la BID a approuvé pour montant total en subventions de 166 millions d´USD en faveur d´Haïti. Ces ressources servent à financer la réparation des infrastructures clés (comme les systèmes de distribution d´eau ou d´électricité) ainsi que la construction de nouvelles routes ou des écoles provisoires. D´autres projets appuient l´agriculture et la création d´emplois à travers le développement du secteur privé. Depuis le début de cette année, la Banque a déboursé plus de 118 millions d´USD pour des projets à Haïti.
D´autres pays membres contribueront à compléter les ressources du FSO cette année, assurant par là même la capacité du Fonds pour continuer à concéder des financements à la Bolivie, le Guatemala, le Guyana, le Honduras, Nicaragua et Paraguay. Est à noter néanmoins qu´Haïti reçoit ses ressources d´un fonds de subventions différencié.
Available in English http://www.iadb.org/news/detail.cfm?language=FR&id=8091&artid=8091
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