Helping Haitian Entrepreneurs Create a Brighter Future

In an effort to spur the entrepreneurial spirit of Haiti, the USAID-financed HIFIVE project partnered with TechnoServe and the Inter-American Development Bank to launch a business plan competition (BPC) called Mon Enterprise Mon Avenir (MEMA) – my enterprise my future. Initially launched in November 2009, MEMA was forced to hold implementation when the earthquake in January 2010 ravaged Haiti, crippling the country’s physical financial institutions infrastructure.

Despite the earthquake, Haiti’s entrepreneurial spirit was unyielding, as evidenced by over 370 business proposals submitted to MEMA after the Competitions relaunch in Spring 2010. In July, judges selected the top 80 applicants who then received training over six weekends to finalize their plans for the next round of competition. Twenty of the top applicants will compete before a live jury in December for 10 finalist prizes of US$10,000 each.

HIFIVE is a USAID-funded project implemented by the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and AED. It empowers Haitians by providing access to innovative financial products and services with a focus on rural areas, value chains, remittances and use of technology to expand financial inclusion.