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Archives for Economic Growth

Micro Entrepreneurs, Big Dreams

Posted by  on Tuesday, December 7th 2010     

In most ways, Khanum Bibi is an ordinary Punjabi wife in Lahore, Pakistan—the country’s second largest metropolitan area. Married 25 years, she and her husband Nisar have raised a son and five daughters in a small village on the outskirts of the city relying on his income as a day laborer and her work making and embellishing ladies garments with beads at home.

One of Bibi's daughters at work embellishing a shalwar. Photo Credit: USAID/Pakistan

The family squeaked by until hard times struck last year. In the heart of an economic downturn, Nisar was injured in a street accident and could no longer work. Trapped economically, the couple agreed that Bibi should take the unusual step of venturing out of the house and proposed to her neighbors to sell the garments together to get better deals from market vendors.

At just the right moment a USAID program offered to train her on product design and development, use of raw materials, market demand, and pricing arrangements. The next month, Bibi left her daughters to work at home and became a sales agent – an entrepreneur.

“I have had a difficult life,” Bibi said, wiping a tear with her headscarf. “But I feel a tremendous responsibility for my family since my husband’s injury. My becoming a sales agent has improved our condition, and also my confidence. Now that I have this opportunity, I want to maximize it.”

This USAID program will increase the incomes of at least 120,000 micro entrepreneurs like Bibi by developing the capabilities of indigenous organizations and local private and public sector partners working with micro entrepreneurs and small enterprises to significantly build their businesses.

As for Bibi, she consults with her husband Nihar on all important business decisions, and maintains her established role in the family setting as she breaks down some of Pakistan’s social barriers and rigid social traditions.

“My husband didn’t give me the right to work,” Bibi said. “I earned it. Today we make joint decisions, and the people in our village understand. USAID has given me new ideas and approaches I never would have considered.”

The 16 Days Campaign to End Violence Against Women: From 25 November to 10 December, USAID will post a blog each day that aims to prove a single point: The human race cannot progress when half of the world population lives without the same rights and respect afforded to its male counterpart. If you are moved by what you read and want to share, we’ve made it easy for you. Click here to find out how.

USAID Surpasses Private Sector Credit Milestone

Posted by  on Thursday, December 2nd 2010     

USAID’s Development Credit Authority recently surpassed a $2 billion milestone of private sector credit mobilized in developing countries. USAID uses partial loan guarantees to encourage local banks to invest locally in sectors ranging from health to clean energy to infrastructure.

Workers sort rubble in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on August 6, 2010. Photo source: Kendra Helmer/USAID

The two billionth dollar was made available from a new partnership with two banks in Haiti for small and medium businesses. Since Haiti’s devastating earthquake, established businesses lost most, if not all, of their property and equipment. Without these assets, small and medium enterprises no longer have the collateral needed to obtain loans to rebuild their businesses. The DCA guarantee will substitute as collateral for borrowers, enabling two local banks to lend up to $20 million of their funds to help businesses rebuild.

Follow USAID’s Development Credit Authority on Twitter and on Facebook.

Cultural Festival in Haiti Kicks Off USAID’s New Development Projects and Promotes Civic Pride

Posted by  on Tuesday, October 19th 2010     

Submitted by  Ben Edwards, USAID/Haiti

Funky beats and roaring laughter echoed through Cap Haitien’s town square as local dancers, poets, comedians, and musicians performed at the city’s cultural festival over the weekend.  Thousands of Haitians attending the festival danced, sang and laughed as performances stretched into the wee hours of the morning.

USAID cohosted the two-day festival with local authorities to boost civic pride and mark a renewed focus on economic growth in Cap Haitien.  The festival fell on a holiday dedicated to King Henri Christophe, Cap Haitien’s most well-known historical figure, and featured some of Haiti’s most popular performers.   Kompa band Tropicana, comedian Jesifra and dance troop Dahomey were among the audience favorites.

Despite a heavy storm that flooded the streets, Haitians rushed into the town square as the rain let up and the water receded.  Locals called the festival Cap Haitien’s biggest event in recent memory and estimated that three to four thousand residents attended.

Some Haitians set up shop on the square’s perimeter to sell steaming food, frosty drinks and hand-made crafts.  Others climbed trees or sat atop cars to get a better view of the stage.

The hopeful tenor of the audience showed Haitians’ resilience in spite of their hardships.  Extreme poverty was commonplace for Cap Haitien residents even before the earthquake nine months ago.  The northern port city lies far outside the range of the earthquake, but many Haitians sought refuge in Cap Haitien after their homes were destroyed in and around Port-au-Prince.  As a result, Cap Haitien’s population swelled in the disaster’s aftermath, straining the city’s already sparse resources.

The Government of Haiti and international community see an opportunity to reinvest in Cap Haitien.  A number of USAID projects are already in the works.  USAID partner, Development Alternatives Inc., is implementing many of those projects including cash-for-work programs that provide short-term employment for women, agriculture projects that boost incomes from farming, and infrastructure projects that increase the number of students attending school.

I arrived in Haiti just two days before the cultural festival, and the weekend-long celebration shaped my first impression of the country.  I witnessed many struggles in Haiti, but I also witnessed proud, hopeful Haitians working hard to overcome these challenges.

Miller Finds Fortune in Rice Cultivation

Posted by  on Friday, October 1st 2010     

Submitted by Ebun Aleshinloye

Joseph Ununu, 45, learned early in life to grow rice; it was a family vocation. But a pest infestation of rice fields in Abakaliki, Eastern Nigeria, in the 1990s, took away his zeal. The pests devastated his four-hectare rice farm, forcing him to shift attention to milling, which only earned marginal income for his family.

In 2006, USAID’s Maximizing Agricultural Revenue and Key Enterprises in Targeted Sites (MARKETS) program changed the fortunes of many rice farmers and processors in the area—including Ununu. They were introduced to best practices in rice farming, high-yielding rice varieties, and use and application of herbicides.

Even though Ununu participated in these training sessions on rice cultivation, he was not enthusiastic initially; he stayed focused on milling.

However, after hearing from other farmers who benefited from USAID’s program, in 2009 he returned to rice farming on 12 hectares of dispersed farmlands in Abakaliki. With careful application of what he had learned, Ununu says that he was amazed at the growth rate of his crops. “I had to leave the four rice mills for my family to manage, and focused attention on nurturing my rice farms,’’ he says.

Ununu’s yields have earned him substantial income. He harvested more than 330 bags of paddy rice of 100 kilograms each, earning $2,000 to purchase two modern processing machines designed to mill long-grain rice. He also earned more than $3,000 from another sale which enabled him to send his first son to university and meet other family needs. Ununu still has more than 70 bags of paddy rice in his warehouse. He employs 30 people in his rice mill and engages more than 60 farmhands on his rice fields. Last year, Ununu earned more than $13,000 from growing rice.

“Thanks to USAID, I am a proud member of my community and an employer of labor,’’ he says.

Nigeria @ 50: Microenterprises Support Caregiver Families

Posted by  on Friday, October 1st 2010     

Submitted by Ebun Aleshinloye

Like many caregivers in Kano, northern Nigeria, Jamila is responsible for raising her children and caring for relatives affected by HIV/AIDS. Previously, she relied on her husband or other sources for financial support. After her husband lost his job, and with six people in her household, Jamila had to find a means to provide for her family financially.

Jamila and her husband display their peanut butter. Business skills training has empowered many woman caregivers to engage in effective business practices. Photo Credit: Fernando Maldonado, USAID/MARKETS

In 2009, Jamila joined about 90 other caregivers from Bauchi, Kano, and Cross River States to attend the MicroEnterprise Fundamentals™ training course offered by USAID through its Maximizing Agricultural Revenue and Key Enterprises in Targeted Sites project. This training equips participants with practical business skills to become successful entrepreneurs.

After the course, Jamila combined her modest savings with a small loan from a community savings and loan group to finance her business. Within a couple of weeks she was able to generate a healthy profit and contribute to her household’s upkeep.

“The most important learning I took from the training was how to plan my business. I now allocate my income between business expenses, personal expenses, and savings,” said Jamila.

Jamila is currently expanding her business. As a result of training on product differentiation, Jamila adds spices to her peanut butter, which she packs in attractive containers. Demand for her product has increased. She has even gained the confidence and financial resources to start a poultry business.

“I am now the main contributor to my household and we make up to $200 in profit each month.”

Like Jamila, many caregivers are reaping the benefits of the USAID training. A recent survey of caregivers trained in 2009 showed that over 50 percent started new businesses, and nearly 100 percent of the respondents reported an increase in income.

USAID Eases Hardships of Haiti’s Earthquake Survivors

Posted by  on Tuesday, September 14th 2010     

After the January 12 earthquake in Haiti, an estimated 1.5 million people were displaced from their homes. Approximately 100,000 earthquake survivors fled Port-au-Prince to Haiti’s Central Plateau.

While the area was one of the country’s poorest regions even before the earthquake, it’s seen an influx of survivors who’ve come to live with family and friends, straining already limited resources.

To ease the hardships in the Central Plateau, USAID partner Mercy Corps is providing immediate financial assistance through cash-for-work programs for both the displaced earthquake survivors and the families who took them in.

With USAID/OFDA support, Mercy Corps is providing livelihood opportunities to 2,000 people per week in the Central Plateau. An additional 20,000 people are on track to benefit from the cash-for-work program.

These projects give a member of each household 30 days of employment on a community-selected project geared at improving infrastructure or agricultural production, such as rehabilitating roads, farmland or irrigation systems. Some have used their salary and tools from the programs to start more sustainable small businesses.

Under USAID’s Food Security Program in Haiti, Mercy Corps will also provide food vouchers to 100,000 in the Central Plateau and Lower Artibonite region. This new initiative provides grants, cash or vouchers to buy desperately needed food.

In the town of Mirebalais, Mercy Corps employs Haitians to clear debris from canals and other public spaces to mitigate flooding during hurricane season. Watch a video on this important program.

View photos of Mercy Corps’ work in Mirebalais on Facebook and Flickr.

Building Business Opportunities in Haiti

Posted by  on Friday, September 3rd 2010     

Submitted by Paul Weisenfeld

USAID's Haiti Task Team Coordinator Paul Weisenfeld discussed opportunities for minority business owners to get involved in Haiti's reconstruction effort. Photo Credit: Ben Edwards

As the U.S. Government works closely with the Government and people of Haiti to rebuild their country, we’re seeing encouraging signs of progress that reflect the resilience of the Haitian people.  For example, together with the Haitian Government and the international community, we’ve removed over 881,000 cubic meters of rubble through programs including cash-for-work and vaccinated over 1 million people against highly contagious diseases like polio.  But we remain realistic about the magnitude of the challenges facing the earthquake-ravaged country – over 1.6 million displaced Haitians and millions of cubic meters of rubble remain.  The U.S. Government is committed to staying with the Haitian people to face these challenges together and build back better.

I was pleased to share this message with a diverse group of minority business owners at the 2010 Minority Enterprise Development Week Conference in Washington D.C.   Partnering with minority-owned businesses is a priority for USAID.  The energy and creativity of the private sector — both U.S. and Haitian — will play a key role in the reconstruction effort.  It’s critical that we work with the Government and people of Haiti to target the four areas where U.S. reconstruction efforts are focused and we believe can have the greatest impact:

  • Increasing agricultural productivity to strengthen food and economic security
  • Improving infrastructure, including housing and electricity
  • Supporting sustainable healthcare and other basic services
  • Making strategic investments in governance, rule of law, and security

PHS, a Hatian American firm, removes rubble at the Truitier landfill in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Photo Credit: Kendra Helmer

One of the first contracts that USAID awarded after the earthquake was to PHS Group, a minority-owned 8(a) firm to manage a debris dump site in Port-au-Prince.   For pictures of PHS working with local Haitians to clear more than 2,000 cubic meters of rubble per-day, including rubble from USAID cash-for-work programs, click here.

The event concluded with an inspiring story from a minority business-owner who was visiting Haiti on business when the earthquake struck.  He described how he partnered with a Haitian business in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy to import 600 portable toilets at a time when sanitation posed a significant risk to Haitians.

“Yes sir, things are difficult,” he said.  “Things are challenging.  But if somebody is persistent, and if you want to work with a local Haitian partner, there is a lot of opportunity.”

He concluded: “If there is persistence, there is a way.”

Apparel Training Center in Haiti Educates Textile Factory Workforce

Posted by  on Monday, August 16th 2010     

Forming a Better-Trained Workforce in Haiti
Written By Joanna Stavropoulos, CHF Haiti communications manager

Graduate of USAID-funded garment training center in Haiti

Steve Jean, a graduate of the new USAID-funded Haiti Apparel Center, trains sewing machine operators in Port-au-Prince. Photo by Joanna Stavropoulos/CHF

Steve Jean, 37, grew up in a family of tailors – his mother, father, even his grandfather and before him. When he was a child, more than 100,000 textile workers had jobs in Haiti. Now there are fewer than 20,000.

But USAID is working to change this statistic and bring vitally needed economic development, jobs and investment to Haiti.  On Wednesday, USAID led the inauguration with CHF International for the Haiti Apparel Center (HAC), which will train 2,000 Haitians a year on a wide variety of jobs needed for Haiti to develop its textile manufacturing sector.

Even before HAC’s official opening, Steve graduated from the Center as a trainer for sewing machine operators and has been overseeing workers in apparel factories next door.

Steve’s face shone with pride as he walked me through the 30,000-square-foot freshly refurbished HAC building with its many rows of shiny new sewing machines where he will soon train other Haitians eager to join the textile industry.

“I believe in this, I know it will be a success,” he says with emotion. “There is a future here because Haitians like to work; young people want to work. So if they have the opportunity they will learn and they will prove what they can do.”

Steve explains that it’s difficult to find a family in Haiti without a tailor among its members. “Even if we have 10 or 20 centers like this,” he said, “you will have a lot of people waiting for this opportunity.”

Steve also points out that the sewing machine operators from HAC will learn all the varieties of stitching (single-needle, cover-stitch, lock-stitch and over-lock), which will increase their appeal to a wide variety of potential employers.

The Center will teach virtually the entire spectrum of skills needed by textile manufacturing workers. There will be instruction for sewing machine mechanics, quality control specialists, industrial engineers, supervisors and plant managers. There will even be seminars for top executives and factory owners who wish to further educate themselves about the latest innovations and techniques in the field.

Steve is excited about his job as a trainer. “The main thing that I learned is how to teach,” he says about the three-month long instruction at HAC. “How to explain and when you explain and they don’t understand – how to figure out what you did wrong and become better in the explanation.”

“I very much enjoy teaching,” says Steve, smiling as we stop outside the building. “When you try to figure out what to do to help someone learn and understand, I like that.”

You can see more photos from the HAC inauguration on the USAID Flickr feed.
For more news about Steve and the inauguration, check out this article from the Associated Press.

Great Gains for Tiny Timor-Leste – Reflections from the Road

Posted by  on Monday, August 9th 2010     

Development Half a World Away: Arrival and Field Visit Day One
Submitted by Frank Young, USAID Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia

I touched down at the one-building international airport in Dili, Timor-Leste, on July 24 and was met by Mission Director Mark White. As we dashed to his car, he told me that he had determined that Timor-Leste is the farthest USAID Mission in terms of travel time from Washington, D.C. My stiff back concurred.

CCT workers spread out Arabica beans to dry in hot sun. (Photo: USAID/Timor Leste)

We left the next day for a two-day field trip outside Dili. First stop was the major coffee-drying operation of the Timor-Leste Coffee Cooperative (CCT), operated by the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA), which has been building this sector with USAID support since 1994. Acres of green Arabica beans were spread out on plastic sheets—it was the height of the harvest season—as workers used long-handled spreaders to continuously turn them over to dry in the hot sun. It’s labor-intensive work for the almost 3,000 person workforce that earns about $3.50-$5.00/day.

Later, we headed up 5,000 feet into the mountains of central Timor-Leste to the village of Maubissee, where the major collection and washing operation of the coffee cooperative is located. I learned en route that the cooperative will export $11-12 million of green beans this year from Dili’s port to buyers that include Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, and occasionally Caribou Coffee. The operation pumps about $14,000 a day into the local economy through its labor force.

Coffee washing operation at Coffee Coop Timor. (Photo: Frank Young)

Coffee production is one of USAID’s long-term success stories in Timor-Leste. Our investment is paying dividends now in employment, agricultural development, and economic growth for Timor-Leste. Coffee production has done so well, in fact, that USAID support is no longer needed (the cooperative agreement ends this year). However, we still support several other areas of NCBA’s work in Timor-Leste, as I would see at my next stop.

Late in the afternoon I visited one of CCT’s health clinics and learned that the government of Timor-Leste relies on these clinics in the coffee-growing areas where it is not yet able to deliver services. With USAID’s support, and revenues from coffee operations, the clinics are able to offer free health services to everyone in the coffee-growing regions, not just the members of the cooperative.

Frank Young with USAID partner Health Alliance International Country Director Dominique Freire and Aileu District Health Center Senior Midwife Alda Falcao reviewing some of the family planning information materials used by the Health Center. (Photo: USAID/Timor Leste)

The entire staff of the Maubissee clinic gathered, and I told them how impressed I was by what they are able to do for the community in the small but well-equipped clinic and how thankful I was for their dedicated service and passion to serve the people who so badly need what they offer. The Timorese head of the clinic, Ms. Marcy, began to cry. I suddenly felt badly that somehow I had offended them with the few words of Tetum I uttered. No, they tell me; no one had come this far to thank her and the staff personally for the long hours they put in day after day.

Reflections from the Road – Part Two

USAID Supports Armenian Government’s Tourism Efforts to Boost Economic Growth

Posted by  on Thursday, August 5th 2010     

Submitted by Jonathan Hale, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Europe & Eurasia

I flew out of Moscow’s extreme summer heat to the more arid Yerevan, Armenia. I watched fires and smoke from burning Russian peat bogs and forests out the plane window. The changing climate will clearly have devastating impacts.

I arrived in Yerevan and have been touring the country this week to visit Armenia’s remarkable sites and to see first hand USAID’s innovative work to address development challenges, including economic growth. While in Yerevan I met with business leaders in the tourism sector and learned about the positive impact that USAID programs are having on their growth.

The Khor Virap Monastery, constructed in the 7th century, has Mount Ararat as a backdrop.

On Sunday, I drove out to the Turkish border to visit the Khor Virap and Noravank monasteries. The massive snow-covered Mount Ararat stood in the background. These are ancient places tied to Armenia’s culture. Mt. Ararat is where tradition says Noah’s ark landed after the flood and the church at Khor Virap is where St. Gregory, who brought Christianity to Armenia in 301 A.D., was imprisoned in a pit for many years.

USAID has supported the Armenian Monuments Awareness Project, which aims to enhance the tourists’ experience at major Armenian historical and cultural sites through road signage, multi-language information boards, printed materials and branded merchandise. I saw USAID supported signs at the monasteries in multiple languages, including in Braille. It was interesting to watch Armenian families reading the signs learning more about their country’s history. Since the launch of the AMAP Project in early 2008, the joint efforts of project implementers have resulted in over 330 information panels and directional signs being installed at 49 monuments throughout Armenia.

On a broader scale, USAID has supported the Armenian government’s efforts to develop tourism for a number of years now. The assistance is aimed at boosting economic growth, developing new markets, improving the skills of the workforce, and creating jobs. The programs also aim to alleviate poverty in rural areas.

Deputy Assistant Administrator Visits the Noravank monastery in Armenia

Tourism in Armenia has grown strongly overall in the past five years despite the global financial crisis. In 2009, Armenia welcomed 575,281 international tourists. The sector has grown by more than 16% per year for the last five years.

The road to the monasteries wound through breathtaking canyons full of birds and rare trees and flowers. I had lunch in a cave where local people prepared a chicken barbeque and the Armenian flat bread “lavash” over a pit. There is much for visitors to explore and experience in Armenia.

You can check out a map and general information about Armenia and a promotional brochure and video that has aired on CNN.

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