MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Clinton Bush Haiti Fund (CBHF) Releases $1.5m in Grants to Microfinance Institution (MFI) Fonkoze and Gheskio of Haiti

The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund (CBHF), a disaster relief organization founded to alleviate the effects of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, has announced the release of approximately USD 1.5 million in grants to Fonkoze, a microfinance institution established in 1995 in Haiti, and Les Centres Gheskio (Gheskio), an NGO established in 1982 to fight fatal diseases in Haiti. The grant of USD 500,000 designated to Fonkoze will focus on establishing a network of Haitian business analysts to evaluate ways to bolster small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), provide skills training for microentrepreneurs and expand access to microloans and financial services. The USD 1 million for Gheskio will help launch a workforce development program to offer job training to men, women and youth in construction trades while also providing microcredit services to 7,000 tent city residents [1].

About the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund (CBHF): Shortly after a major earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, US President Barack Obama asked former US presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush to lead a fundraising effort to assist the people of Haiti in rebuilding. The initial efforts focused on emergency relief. However, as of June 2010, its focus shifted towards job creation and the promotion of economic opportunity.

About Fonkoze: Fonkoze was established in Haiti in 1995 with the mission of “building the economic foundations for democracy in Haiti by providing the rural poor with the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty.” Fonkoze is comprised of three institutions: Fonkoze, Fonkoze Financial Services (FFS) and Fonkoze USA. Fonkoze is a non-profit microfinance institution that opens and builds new branches. FFS is a commercial MFI that expands the branches established by Fonkoze. Fonkoze USA channels financial and technical support to its Haitian partners. As of 2008, Fonkoze and FFS served over 50,000 borrowers and had over 100,000 depositors, making it the largest Haitian MFI listed on the MIX Market, the microfinance information clearinghouse. As of 2008, Fonkoze had a gross loan portfolio of USD 4 million; FFS has a gross loan portfolio of USD 8.2 million.

By Diana Baide, Research Assistant

[1] Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. “Nearly $1.5 million in New Grants from the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund” by Meg Galloway Pearce

http://www.clintonbushhaitifund.org/media/entry/new-grants-10122010/

MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: Clinton Bush Haiti Fund

https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Clinton+Bush+Haiti+Fund+(CBHF)

MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: Fonkoze

https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Fonkoze

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