HAITI

[Guest]

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[Amy-in-PHX]

Hi, Kiva and Haiti supporters --  Pls see this link:  www.zafen.org/en/projects/614

The above link is for a loan request by a bakery business in Haiti. It has a GREEN aspect, because they want to buy a new oven, which will be fueled by electricity and gas, replacing the old one which burns wood. ALSO, if the loan funds can be raised, SIX JOBS for Haitians will be created, as the business adds a new shift to use the new, larger capacity oven. Project needs to raise another $1,775 by 10 February, Thursday. Minimum loan amount $25.  Please help with a loan if you can!
Amy

[Amy-in-PHX]

Hi, Kiva and Haiti supporters --  Pls see this link:  www.zafen.org/en/projects/614

The above link is for a loan request by a bakery business in Haiti. It has a GREEN aspect, because they want to buy a new oven, which will be fueled by electricity and gas, replacing the old one which burns wood. ALSO, if the loan funds can be raised, SIX JOBS for Haitians will be created, as the business adds a new shift to use the new, larger capacity oven. Project needs to raise another $1,775 by 10 February, Thursday. Minimum loan amount $25.  Please help with a loan if you can!
Amy

Hi Kivafriends -- I just want to post a follow-up, to let you know that the bakery project reached full funding, just before the deadline.  I am really excited for them!      

[Amy-in-PHX]

If you have never checked out the website of Fonkoze (an MFI in Haiti), it's pretty worthwhile to do so, IMHO -- especially this page:  http://www.fonkoze.org/getinvolved/joindelegation.html, if you go to the bottom and "click here" where it says "read the Fonkoze USA Director's essay on the Spring 2008 delegation."  It's more of a photo album of the spring 2009 trip by a US group to visit Fonkoze branches, and several clients, in rural places in Haiti.  Included are photos of several entrepreneurs in their places of business (mostly open-air stalls) and some of their homes, plus photos of several training sessions in which they receive literacy and, later, business training. 

Of course, the Fonkoze model is explained in detail on the website.

[Peter S]

from a recent Mercy Corps press release, news of an important microinsurance initiative in Haiti

Microinsurance Catastrophe Risk Organization (MiCRO) Created to Help Protect Haiti's Micro Entrepreneurs

International Consortium Unveils Scalable, Innovative Model for Micro-insurance to Combat the Financial Impact of Natural Disasters

March 30, 2011

The formation of Microinsurance Catastrophe Risk Organisation (MiCRO), an innovative donor-capitalized insurance facility developed by a syndicate of strategic stakeholders, will empower Haiti's micro-entrepreneurs to protect themselves against the economic aftermath of severe natural catastrophes. The facility’s scalable model for microinsurance is the first of its kind in Haiti and is aimed at the country's ‘informal sector’ – the organized poor who have taken steps to increase their economic standing and stability through the creation of small businesses.

MiCRO's founding partners include Swiss Re, a leading and highly diversified global reinsurer committed to working with governments and related entities to further strategic, long term country risk management; Caribbean Risk Managers Limited (CaribRM), the risk analytics arm of CGM Gallagher Group, the Caribbean’s largest risk intermediary; GC Micro Risk SolutionsSM (GC Micro), a division of the world’s leading risk and reinsurance specialist Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC; Mercy Corps , a global relief and development agency; and Fonkoze, Haiti’s leading microfinance institution.

. . .

“There are far too many Haitians who work hard to save and build their assets, only to find them destroyed overnight by a hurricane, flood or earthquake,” says Anne Hastings, CEO of Fonkoze Financial Services. “Microinsurance to manage these inevitable events is a prerequisite for escaping poverty and building a sustainable future.”

. . .


~~~~~~~

- full press release at:
http://www.mercycorps.org/pressreleases/24128

Peter