Investing to Help Microfinance Institutions in Haiti

Calvert Foundation has made an initial $300,000 investment to support recovery efforts in Haiti. Partnering with other organizations, including the the Clinton/Bush Foundation, Calvert Foundation is making this investment through a newly created fund called HELP Haiti.

Microfinance has proven to be an effective option of economic survival for many Haitians, who – even before the earthquake – were among the poorest in the Americas, with close to 80% of the population living below the poverty line. However, the earthquake has severely affected organizations offering loans to Haiti’s micro-entrepreneurs, at a time when this money is most critical to the reconstruction process and regaining economic momentum.

To address this issue, four prominent organizations – the International Development Bank/Multilateral Investment Fund, the Clinton/Bush Foundation, Deutsche Bank Foundation, and ELF (an emergency liquidity fund in Latin America) – developed this fund to provide fresh capital for Haitian microfinance.

HELP Haiti will breathe new life into the microfinance system in Haiti, providing some flexibility to three microfinance organizations whose pre-earthquake peformances were solid and effective in helping Haitian microentrepreneurs succeed: ACME, MCN, and FINCA Haiti. The new fund will allow these organizations to bolster their capabilities to serve current customers and take on new ones. The fund will also help these groups provide technical assistance and training for microfinance organizations and their borrowers. Most importantly, HELP Haiti will help avert a significant reduction in microfinance operations, which will help Haiti's working poor and contribute to recovery and reconstruction efforts.

> Learn more about investing through Calvert Foundation
> Read the press release