Cuando salió el sol en Haití el 11 de enero de 2010, un día después del terremoto de magnitud 7.0 que sacudió al país, el panorama era desolador. Cientos de miles de personas habían perdido a sus vidas, las de sus familias o amigos, así como sus hogares. Si bien el terremoto ha tenido muchas repercusiones profundas y duraderas, en los años transcurridos desde entonces, ha habido muchos avances prometedores. Estos desarrollos se hacen evidentes en las conversaciones con empresarios haitianos estos días.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the devastating earthquake that shook Haiti and its partners in an unprecedented way. We’re taking the opportunity reflect on the work the MIF has done in Haiti since that day, and looking ahead, we are thinking about how we can better respond to the country’s needs. The MIF has been active in Haiti since 1995 and there were a number of active projects at the time of the earthquake. We immediately provided support to our current partners, and then focused on contributing to rebuilding the Haitian economy as a whole. 

Cocoa is an up-and-coming agricultural product in Haiti. In November of last year, we wrote about a new project the MIF started in the two main cocoa-growing regions in Haiti - the Grande Anse and the North department. 7,000 small cocoa farmers will raise their incomes by 25% by improving their growing practices, increasing yields per acre and cocoa quality, as well as transitioning to higher-value and quality beans. 

A few days ago, I attended the 4th Annual Haiti Business Investment Expo and Conference, here in Washington, D.C.