Doing business in Haiti
I just finished by 9th trip to Haiti since May 2010. People ask me all the time, “are things getting any better in Haiti?” Well, the roads are still crappy, but some of the rubble is being removed. There are still a LOT of people living in tents. People are dying of Cholera. And the political climate is unsettled with former Haitian dictators coming to Haiti to try to fill the leadership void.
But, in spite of all that, there are some good things happening in Haiti–at least on the projects I’m working on. Let me explain.
When the earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, I knew that I was “called” to Haiti. I had no idea what that calling would entail or what I would be doing. I must also admit, that prior to January 12th, I had no desire or reason to visit Haiti.
My first visit to Haiti, I was given an assignment by World Vision to figure out how to get birth certificates for 1 million Haitian children. This is a huge problem in Haiti and leads to all kinds of problems, including illiteracy. Click here to read more about the birth certificate project. While working on that project, I met up with Digicel, the largest mobile phone company in Haiti. Digicel persuaded me to get involved in the Haiti Mobile Money Initiative. Less than 2% of Haitians have a bank account. The Haiti Mobile Money Initiative’s goal is to enable any Haitian with a mobile phone to to access basic banking services via their mobile phone.
Doing business in Haiti has its challenges. Traveling is difficult because the roads are poor and there are constant traffic jams. Lately, Haiti has suffered from political instabilities. During December, the election riots shut down the country, causing us to lose several days of productivity. The video below shows some of the riot activity taking place right outside of the apartment building where I stay.
The World Bank ranks Haiti 162 out of 183 in the “Doing Business Ranking.” Haiti ranks 176 out of 183 in Starting a Business and 164th out of 183 in Protecting Investors. So, why would Univicity want to start or invest in a business in Haiti?
During my first visit to Haiti, I met several very smart Haitian technology entrepreneurs who want to make a difference in their country. Any one of them could get a good job in the U.S. or Canada at any time. Yet, they want to build an IT company in Haiti. I have always loved information technology and in my past, I founded Windows NT Magazine that was read by over a million IT people around the world in print, in person and online. Today, Haiti’s largest export is mangoes. But I asked myself, why can’t Haiti be known for exporting software and other IT services? What can I do to help these Haitian technology entrepreneurs fulfill that vision?
In short, I have chosen to invest in some smart business people who happen to be Haitian. We are working together to try to make a difference, in spite of earthquakes, hurricanes, political instability, poor infrastructure, and weak governance.
Bottom line: If we can make it here, we can make it anywhere.
So, if you are looking for an adventure and you want to make a real difference in a country that needs just about everything, Haiti is open for business.