This document discusses private and public sector initiatives for developing entrepreneurship in Haiti, arguing that the tourism industry should be the priority. It provides background on Haiti's fragile economic state and analyzes current entrepreneurship programs like MEMA and Digicel Award. While these aim to be inclusive, their business plan requirements exclude many Haitians. The document recommends focusing entrepreneurship efforts on tourism, as the sector is made up of small businesses and MSE participation could boost local economies. Overall, entrepreneurship in Haiti must be adapted to its context and the government should reform financial systems lacking funding for social enterprises.

1. October 2012
PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR
INITIATIVES FOR THE Dr Hugues SERAPHIN
PhD PGCE MA
DEVELOPMENT OF
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN HAITI:
Lecturer in Event Management
and Marketing
THE TOURISM INDUSTRY, (The University of Winchester)
SHOULD NOT IT BE THE
Associate researcher
PRIORITY? CREDDI-LEAD 2438 Guyane
Hugues.seraphin@winchester.ac.uk

2. CONTENTS
PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR INITIATIVES FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN HAITI:
THE TOURISM INDUSTRY, SHOULD NOT IT BE THE PRIORITY?
1 – INTRODUCTION
2 – ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN HAITI
3 - ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE TOURISM SECTOR: THE WAY
FORWARD FOR HAITI?
4 - CONCLUSION

3. INTRODUCTION
Before January 2010 earthquake, Haiti was:
One of the poorest countries in the world
Unsafe destination due to its political instability
(Thomson, 2004; Higate & Henry, 2009)
Difficult to:
Build sustainable economic development
Attract FDI
(Barreau, 2012)
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in
E.g. of public sector initiative social mobility (Casson,
E.g. of private sector initiatives 1991) and has the
ability to save the
economy of a
country(Louart, 1980)

4. ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN HAITI
Environmental overview of Haiti
Literature review
MEMA project (public sector)
Digicel Award (Private sector)

5. ENVIRONMENTAL OVERVIEW OF HAITI
Haiti was once the richest French colony. Haiti was even
called the ‘Pearl of the Antilles’ (Séraphin, 2011)
Fragile state:
Lack of political will/capacity to provide:
Basic functions needed for poverty reduction and
development
Safeguard human rights of the population
Public services
Vulnerable state:
Public policies
Economy
Shaped by external forces
(Moita, Gautier, 2010)

6. LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature supporting the fact
Haitians are not entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs have to be:
Innovative (Schumpeter, 1934)
 Able to adapt to the market and manage risks (Cantillon, 1758)
Take action in the face of unknown future events(Knight,1921;
Drucker, 1985))
Haitians are not entrepreneurs based on the fact they do not
create or innovate. Their strategies are individual and short
term. Moreover, their business are not operating with a strategy
but as a need to survival (Van der Sterren, 2008).

7. LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature supporting the fact
Haitians are entrepreneurs
In order to be considered as an entrepreneur, it is important to:
Think entrepreneurially (Sahlman, 1999)
Be driven by opportunities without regard to the resources controlled
(Timmons, Spinelli, 2008)
Many Haitians are self-employed have the venture (products,
service, sales, ideas, etc.) but do not have access to the financial
services (Van der Sterren, 2008), therefore rely of informal sources of
finance to start their business (Bygrave, 2003).
The Haitians are promoters (as opposed to ‘trustee’ as they are
driven only by their perception of the opportunities that exist in their
environment. This strategic orientation requires being creative and
innovative (Sahlman, 1999). The Haitians are therefore entrepreneurs.

8. OPPORTUNITIES
MEMA (Mon Entreprise Mon Avenir) project
Funded by the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund
Turn Haitians’ ventures into profitable
businesses
To be short-listed, the projects must be:
Sustainable
Innovative
inclusive
http://memahaiti.org/qparticiper.php

9. OPPORTUNITIES
The Digicel Entrepreneur of the Year programme
Build new economic foundations for Haiti
Rewarding and cultivating the new business leaders of Haiti
To be short-listed, the projects must:
Show a clear strategic direction
Be innovative
Have a positive impact on the local community

10. MEMA / DIGICEL
Both projects are supposed to be inclusive
HOWEVER
Application requires a ‘Business plan’
50% of the population in Haiti is illiterate
65% of the population in Haiti lives below the threshold of poverty
(Roc, 2008)
In South Africa, Kristen and Rogerson (2002), noticed a limited
involvement of the locals in entrepreneurship programmes because
of the limited education of most of the locals
There is no financial product (Micro Finance Institutions) orientated
towards micro and small-scale enterprises in Haiti. The MFI deliver
credit to micro and small enterprises and contributes to poverty
reduction by providing poor people access to financial services
(Van der Sterren, 2008). Limited personal and family savings and an
absence of financial innovation severely limit the growth prospects
of promising start-ups in developing countries (Lingelbach, 2005)

11. ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE
TOURISM SECTOR: THE WAY
6 reasons why the tourism
FORWARD FOR HAITI? sector should be the priority of
the government in terms of
implementation of
entrepreneurship programmes

12. WHY THE TOURISM SECTOR
1. Principle 7 of the Port-au-Prince declaration, 2011:
Development of MSTEs
2. In the world the tourism industry is made up of mostly small
and medium enterprises run by people inexperienced in
business(Cooper, Hall, 2008) and their innovativeness is limited
(Hjalager, 2009)
3. Haiti is almost virgin and full of opportunities for investment in
general and tourism related activates in particular (Chauvet,
2010)
4. MSE can increase the participation of the poor in the tourism
industry (Manyara, Jones, 2005)
5. When enterprises are owned by locals, there is a high
likelihood of purchase of local supplies (Shah, 2000).
6. Entrepreneurial development by local residents occur
spontaneously in response to growth in tourist demand (Butler,
1980)

13. CONCLUSION
Innovation is a contextual concept. Moreover,
entrepreneurship in developing countries is distinctive from
that practiced in developed countries (Lingelbach, et al. 2005)
The tourism sector and entrepreneurship seem to be highly
compatible
It is also very important that the Haitian government rethinks
its financial system. The lack of funding has constraining
impacts on the development of social enterprises (Karatas-Ozkan &
Manville, 2011).

14. PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR October 2012
INITIATIVES FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN HAITI:
THE TOURISM
INDUSTRY, SHOULD NOT IT BE Dr Hugues SERAPHIN
THE PRIORITY? PhD PGCE MA
Lecturer in Event Management
and Marketing
(The University of Winchester)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
Associate researcher
ANY QUESTION? CREDDI-LEAD 2438 Guyane
Hugues.seraphin@winchester.ac.uk