Haiti

Haiti: 58% of the population in extreme poverty

In Haiti 58% of the population lives below the poverty line.

The actors of economic development in Haiti must take into account the following challenges:

• A young population with a low level of education and technical and professional training,
• A high unemployment rate, particularly among the youngest,
• An informal economy that provides a large proportion of available jobs,
• A small percentage of Haitians have access to electricity.

The ecological situation is also complicated, with less than a third of the country covered with forests, each natural disaster causes major damage. Most households still cook with charcoal, worsening deforestation and causing major health problems due to smoke inhalation whilst cooking.

The country is regularly shaken by climatic and political upheavals, the economy has difficulty structuring itself and developing, and salaried jobs are rare. In order to survive, men and women start a fruit stall, a sewing workshop, a street restaurant, etc. with very little money. But to develop and consolidate it and to use it to pull themselves out of poverty, they cruelly lack training and capital.

Entrepreneurs du Monde in Haiti

In 2003 Entrepreneurs du Monde created Palmis Mikwofinans Sosyal, a social microfinance programme. In 2010, following the earthquake that devastated the country, it initiated other programmes:

– An access to energy project: Palmis Enèji
– A project to support Very Small Businesses: Say Yes! To Business
– A project (now locally managed) to train local craftsmen in earthquake and hurricane resistant construction.