About CHOOSE HAITI

The international community pledged millions of dollars to assist Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. While the outpouring of aid from around the world has given Haiti hope for a better future, aid alone is not enough to rebuild. As donations dwindle, Haiti needs o look ahead towards economic security.

For this reason, CHOOSE HAITI's emphasis is on existing capacity to create jobs today. While debates about rebuilding plans go on, Haitian businesses need orders now. CHOOSE HAITI strives both to connect buyers and suppliers of all and any type of goods, and to generate demand for Haitian-made products in consumer markets. We believe that branding is important to achieving sustainable demand. Consumers that "CHOOSE HAITI" spur specific interest in unique, high quality Haitian goods.

Our focus on existing capacity favors a pragmatic approach where all potential partners are welcome, including small businesses, individual artisans, trade organizations, non-profits, corporations, investors, and factories. CHOOSE HAITI does not advocate for any particular model of rebuilding. However, all participants must enroll in programs like Better Work Haiti (part of the Better Work global program, a partnership between the International Labour Organization and the IFC, a financing arm of the World Bank) as a minimum requirement. Artisans or community organizations outside such programs are individually reviewed. Additionally, we publicly publish our research evaluating living and working conditions in Haiti online.

Notes on Building Economic Recovery
In a February 2010 article in Businessweek titled "Business Can Help Haiti," former President Bill Clinton calls on the business community: "Years from now, our response will be judged by how many jobs we help create, how many businesses are started or expanded, the vitality of the middle class, and whether investors are able to earn a profit by doing the right thing." As Clinton outlines, investment in agriculture, rural infrastructure, renewable energy, apparel and textiles, and call centers will help the Haitian people create stability for themselves.

To this list, CHOOSE HAITI would add the importance of working with businesses of all sizes and developing mature Haitian brands.

Nicholas Kristof says in his January 20, 2010 column: "To visit Haiti is to know that its problem isn’t its people." Kristof goes on to cite "Haiti: From Natural Catastrophe to Economic Security," a report written for the United Nations by the prominent Oxford University economist, Paul Collier. Collier identifies job creation as the fundamental means of providing "dignity and structure to the lives of young people."

Kristof recognizes the value of aid and of government and nonprofit organizations, but like Clinton he calls on the business community to invest in the Haitian people: "So in the coming months as we help Haitians rebuild, let’s dispatch not only aid workers, but also business investors."

CHOOSE HAITI seeks to answer the call made by Clinton, Kristof, and Collier. For us, this consists of bringing people together, to develop and realize new potential. Now is the time for forward-looking businesses, products, and services in Haiti.