Objectives

Haiti’s economy is stagnant and chronic underemployment wreaks havoc on 85% of the population which leads to an unstable life for the majority of Haitians. Consequently, they do not have access to things that we take for granted: education, healthcare and other vital social benfits.

Today we live in an era of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates has a great influence on the world well beyond economics, helping to mold political, social, environmental and cultural arenas all over the world. Unfortunately, many people have not had the chance to benefit from economic globalization. Enterprise is in fact at the heart of creating opportunities for employment.

QIFD firmly believes that entrepreneurship is a vital aspect in developing a vibrant economy in Haiti. We believe that innovative business venture ideas are a crucial step in developing a thriving economy in communities throughout Haiti. Unfortunately in Haiti you can have a brilliant idea for a micro enterprise, but are unable to follow through simply because you do not have access to the seed money to begin your dream. Because 80% of Haiti’s popoulation lives on less than $1 US a day, availability to loans is a distant dream as they lack access to the basic financial services : including credit, savings and insurance.

Understanding this problem, QIFD has the vision to develop a microfinance program designed to assist those individuals with an innovative idea that will not only better their own lives, but will also help to develop and bring economic life back into their communities. QIFD feels that it is imperative to bring together the ideas of entrepreneurship and social change . We want innovators who drive change in the local economy and create new ways of doing things. They should have an idea that is creative and has the potential for widespread impact within their communties and potentially beyond. They should have traits such as drive, ambition, volunteer spirit, problem solving, practical, goal oriented and resourceful. QIFD firmly believes that entrepreneurship is crucial if Haiti is to rise above the overt poverty that permeates throughout country.


Goals

With this in mind, QIFD’s Entrepreneurial Micro-Finance program has the following goals :

I.Identify and provide micro-finance grants to 20 young entrepreneus a year that have an innovative business idea that also has a social (health, education, environment, human rights) and economic impact within their community.
II.Provide business trainings to our entrepreneurs on a monthly basis for 12 months.
III.Provide social activism trainings to both the entrpreneurs and communities where they work

Implementation

QIFD intends on providing microfinance grants of $1,500 to individuals that are chosen through an application and interview process. In order to find exceptional candidates for this program we will utilize our field coordinators that are located throughout the country to help us locate potential candidates. We will then ask the candidates to submit a proposal and we will conduct a field visit to the communtiy to interview the candidate.

Our intention is to begin the selection of our canditates in March 2006 and will chose two candidates per month. Each candidate will sign a contract of engagement and benchmarks that they will have to reach with their business over a 24 month period. QIFD will provide business trainings to the grant reciptients once a month and will conduct quarterly evaluations on the evolution of their micro-enterprise venture. We will follow these individuals and their commutnies for 24 months to ensure a positive implimentation of their endeavor.

Beneficiaries

To provide 20 young entrpreneurs with the opportunity to implement a micro-enterprise with social underpinnings that will aid in the jumpstarting of the economies their individual communities.