Helping Train Smaller Businesses in Haiti

Small and medium enterprises in developing countries face increasing pressure to improve management skills and become more competitive. In Haiti, where affordable management training is almost nonexistent, IFC, with support from the Dutch government, is rolling out the IFC Business Edge program. This will help fill a gap for local SMEs, which employ about 80 percent of the country's labor force.

IFC Business Edge is an interactive program that enables local training providers to deliver high-quality workshops on five main themes: finance and accounting, human resources, marketing, operations and management, and personal productivity skills.

The program is aimed at owners and managers of smaller companies and middle management of midsize firms. It will help SMEs in Haiti improve their productivity and competitiveness.

"Introducing Business Edge in Haiti shows IFC's commitment to supporting local SMEs. This effort is part of a broader strategy to increase operations in the Caribbean, where countries rank among the world's poorest and needs are most urgent." —Atul Mehta, IFC Director for Latin America & the Caribbean

This month, Mehta signed an agreement with Société Financière Haïtienne de Développement S.A. (SOFIHDES), a Haitian financial development company that is being certified to deliver IFC Business Edge training on a commercial basis starting in October 2008.

A Global Effort

Since its launch in Vietnam in 2001, IFC Business Edge has become an international product with a well developed training methodology for SMEs. It has been deployed successfully in 11 countries of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

The agreement with SOFIHDES marks the introduction of IFC Business Edge in Latin America and the Caribbean. Projects are also under development with local partners in Honduras and Nicaragua. To date, the program has facilitated the training of about 113,000 SMEs in some of the world's poorest areas.

Scaling Up Operations in Haiti

IFC's strategy in Haiti focuses on promoting economic growth and improving access to basic services, particularly for low-income people and other vulnerable groups. For the past two years, IFC has been scaling up activities in the country, and we recently established a new office in Port-au-Prince to be closer to clients and local partners. Going forward, we expect our investment and advisory program to continue growing rapidly.

Since 2000, IFC has financed several key projects in Haiti, including: Digicel Haiti: two investments helped this telecom operator improve access to phone service MicroCredit National: an investment helped establish and expand its microfinance lending Capital Bank: a trade line of credit helped increase its trade finance activities Grupo M: financing to help establish an industrial park to increase available commercial space for new investments in textiles

With support from the Canadian International Development Agency, IFC recently completed an advisory project with Electricité d'Haïti to strengthen the company's institutional and operational capacity. This initiative supports the World Bank Group's effort to help rebuild the power sector in a country where only 2.5 percent of the population has regular access to electricity.

IFC is evaluating several direct investment opportunities in critical areas, including agribusiness, power, textiles, and the financial sector. We are also exploring advisory projects that help increase access to finance for SMEs and improve the investment climate, with a focus on reforms and regulatory governance.

For more information contact:

Adriana Gomez Senior Communications Officer Washington, D.C. Phone: +1 (202) 458 5204 E-mail: agomez@ifc.org

Clara Ugarte Perrin Communications Officer Lima, Peru Phone: +51-1-611-2521 E-mail: cugarteperrin@ifc.org