Investing in Haiti

• January 21, 2018
  By Dugue Dumond - Press attaché of GAHCCI

Under the leadership of Saurel Quettan, president of Georgia Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce, a delegation of representatives from Haiti including AmCham (Régine René Labrousse), CFI (Tessa Jacques), US Embassy in Haiti (Allen Krause-commercial), and USAID (Isaac Michel) in Haiti, presented the benefit of trading and investing in Haiti.

The new strategy will help Haiti distance itself from economic aid from foreign countries to give way to commercial investment by Haitians in the diaspora and nationals of foreign countries. According to Mr. Krause, one of the heads of the Economic Section of the US Embassy in Haiti, there is no longer economic aid in Haiti. The new economic model is designed for Haiti to move forward. This must be done by means of direct diaspora investments in Haiti.

For this new investment model to succeed, players need to learn how to use the tools available to certain institutions, such as CFI, USAID, etc., wisely. No more going through family or friends to open a business in Haiti, Cross said. According to a survey that was conducted among a group of Haitians, what is a priority for them is work. If young Haitians can find work, there will be no need for demonstrations throughout the streets of Port-au-Prince. “If the diaspora continues to create jobs by investing in small and medium enterprises in Haiti, the country will have a better future.”