ARTICLE - CBHF - LONG-TERM PROGRESS

CLINTON BUSH HAITI FUND INVESTMENTS ENCOURAGE LONG-TERM PROGRESS IN HAITI
(EON) - By Clinton Bush Haiti Fund

The Fund announces $2.59M in grants and loans to business and workforce training programs

WASHINGTON - The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund today announced $2.59M in grants and loans to four businesses and workforce development programs, including Regis College, Cap Lamandou Waterview Hotel, CLYF Quincallerie, and SOFIHDES. These investments highlight the importance of viable enterprises and a skilled workforce as Haiti continues to build a stable, healthy economy.

Cap Lamandou Waterview Hotel

As part of its continued effort to revitalize the tourism sector in Haiti, the Fund made a $349K loan to upgrade the Cap Lamandou Waterview Hotel in Jacmel. The hotel is owned by SIMACT Tourism Inc., a US company held by Haitian and diaspora investors dedicated to helping develop their country. The loan will enable physical renovations including updates to furniture and equipment, as well as an updated reservation system and training for hotel management. The seaside facility, which sits on a cliff overlooking the bay in the historic town of Jacmel, hopes to join the Comfort Inn brand of Choice Hotels International.

“Jacmel is a vibrant town, and Haiti’s tourism sector is ready to grow here,” Clinton Bush Haiti Fund CEO Gary Edson said. “Smart investments in the hotel industry translate into successes for local restaurateurs, artisans, small enterprises, and the Haitian economy as a whole.”

Regis College

The Fund made a $463K grant to Regis College to educate faculty at six Haitian nursing schools. The grant will help provide 24 Haitian nurse educators with a master’s degree in nursing. These teachers are expected to pass that education along to 3,300 students over the period of the grant. This program will benefit Haiti for years to come by sustaining nursing jobs, raising healthcare standards, and transforming the health sector, all while filling a need for skilled Haitian health workers.

“Haiti is in dire need of indigenous health workers who are committed to their local communities. Long-term health and economic results can only be achieved by partnering with Haitians to build the health training and service programs that they own, operate in, and use,” said Clinton Bush Haiti Fund board member, Senator William H. Frist. Senator Frist is also a thoracic surgeon.

SOFIHDES

The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund also made a second investment in SOFIHDES, bringing its total support to the long-established Haitian development bank to $2.25M. With a new $1M loan, SOFIHDES will continue to provide loans to Haitian small and growing businesses. An additional $250K grant will provide technical assistance for capacity-building, helping update SOFIHDES’ loan management system and reporting capacity, as well as reinforcing its credit process.

SOFIHDES on-lent the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund’s first $1M loan to a variety of companies, reaching sectors from agriculture to communications.

CLYF Quincallerie S.A.

The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund also made a $525K investment in a Haitian for-profit commercial construction materials company, CYLF Quincallerie. The grant and loan will help CLYF provide access to reliable, quality hardware materials from a local Haitian source, building back better and promoting job creation.

The $525K investment is comprised of a grant and a loan. The $375K loan will allow Port-au-Prince-based CLYF to purchase machinery to produce light-gauge steel metal studs. The $150K grant will support training for use of the equipment, creating at least 25 new jobs.

About the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund:

The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded after Haiti’s January 12, 2010 earthquake, when President Barack Obama asked former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to lead a major fundraising effort to assist the Haitian people to “build back better.” The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund initially responded to the catastrophe with millions in humanitarian relief. By the time the Fund was officially formed in May 2010, it transitioned to primarily serving its longer-term mission of sustainable reconstruction efforts designed to promote jobs and economic opportunity, empowering Haiti to chart its own successful future.