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Rebuilding Haiti after its catastrophic earthquake should generate major contracts for private companies specializing in construction, logistics, transport and security, but U.S. executives say they need a clear reconstruction strategy to shape their business plans.

Private sector firms that focus on post-conflict or disaster relief operations gathered at a meeting in Miami this week to consider the business opportunities offered by Haiti's recovery from the January 12 quake that devastated the capital Port-au-Prince and surrounding towns.

With Haiti's government saying up to 300,000 people may have died, some economists are calling the Haitian quake the deadliest natural disaster in modern times. Relief experts and business leaders agree the mammoth task of rebuilding what was already the Western Hemisphere's poorest state will be impossible without private sector participation.

"I don't think they have any option but to get private companies in to help reconstruct Haiti," Kevin Lumb, CEO of London-based Global Investment Summits Ltd, which organized the Haiti Reconstruction meeting in Miami, told Reuters.

"I think it opens up a great deal of business opportunities. Most of their infrastructure is destroyed, their roads, communications, buildings, it's obviously affected water supply, electricity, so that all needs rebuilding," Lumb said.

The Miami summit was also organized by the International Peace Operations Association, a trade group of companies working in conflict, post-conflict and disaster zones.

IPOA President Doug Brooks cited $13 billion to $14 billion as estimates of the scale of damage inflicted by the Haitian quake, which could provide some measure of the business opportunities created by the reconstruction effort.

Brooks called the Miami meeting a "nuts and bolts conference" bringing together service providers, major humanitarian groups and other stakeholders in Haiti's rebuilding. The aim was to fit needs to potential contract opportunities ahead of an international donors' conference for Haiti scheduled for March 31 in New York.

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MONTERREY, Mexico, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- IGNIA Fund I, LP, the first impact investing fund in Latin America, announced today that it has invested MXN$63 million in Mexicana de Servicios para la Vivienda S.A.P.I. de C.V. ("MeXvi"), a leading provider of integral solutions for self-construction of low-income homes in rural and semi-urban settings.

"MeXvi provides the end user with accessible construction materials, design and technical assistance, so that the client can participate in the building of his or her own home to high quality standards under an affordable, versatile, fast and safe construction system," said Alvaro Rodriguez Arregui, co-founder and Managing Partner of IGNIA.

Since its inception in 2006, MeXvi has pioneered the assisted self-construction of homes in rural and semi-urban areas in over 13 states of Mexico. MeXvi is the leading housing disaster relief agent in Mexico and has constructed approximately 4,900 homes houses via its assisted self-construction program and has collaborated in the reconstruction of many devastated communities, improving the lives of approximately 25,000 individuals. MeXvi's construction system has been certified by entities such as the ONNCCE (Organismo Nacional de Normalizacion y Certificacion de la Construccion y Edificacion, S.C.) and the Catholic University of Guayaquil, Ecuador. MeXvi has also received CONAVI's (Comision Nacional de Vivienda) National Housing Award on three different occasions.

Through its investment in MeXvi, IGNIA is partnering with Grupo Empresarial Kaluz, S.A. de C.V. ("Kaluz"), a privately held and highly respected Mexican conglomerate with its main interests in the mining, petrochemical, construction materials and financial industries.

"We are excited about IGNIA's capital investment in MeXvi. IGNIA partners' track record in microfinance and in developing successful business models to serve the BoP together with Kaluz's proven history of creating value will serve as catalysts for growth. We aim to jointly develop new sales channels for MeXvi's quality products by partnering with institutions that will provide our end customers with access to credit," said Francisco del Valle Perochena, MeXvi's Chairman of the Board.

"Families at the base of pyramid typically improve their housing through self-construction, incurring long lead times and high costs to end up with low quality homes. MeXvi provides an opportunity to dramatically alter the quality of life of these families through access to homes that improve safety, stability and health," added Michael Chu, co-founder and Managing Director of IGNIA. "We are enthusiastic about the potential for MeXvi to generate high financial returns that will make possible extraordinary social impact."

IGNIA Fund I, LP is an impact investing venture capital fund that focuses on high growth businesses in Mexico and throughout Latin America. By providing effective responses to the enormously underserved needs of the low-income population, IGNIA empowers entrepreneurship and generates social impact at the Base of the Pyramid while creating attractive financial returns for its investors. IGNIA invests approximately US$2 - $10 million per company over the life of an investment.

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Even as Gerard Talbot-Paul, acting chairman, National Entrepreneurship Development Company (NEDCO), called for a smoother system to be put in place to foster the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), he said they have borrowed $225 million in the last seven years. He said since the inception of NEDCO’s loan programme in August 2002 to 2009, it has disbursed 9,647 loans totalling $225,168,009.

“NEDCO encourages small and micro entrepreneurs to start or expand small businesses that utilise indigenous resources and native talents and skills in non- traditional areas. “These small enterprises carry the potential to contribute to value added activities in the small and medium enterprise (SME) value chain, and have high export potential as branded Caribbean heritage products,” Talbot-Paul said. He was speaking at yesterday’s launch of Small Business Month (SBM).

Rennie Dumas, Minister of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprises, said Government is aware that small and micro enterprises are experiencing challenges in their operations. “This Government has always recognised the importance of the micro and small enterprises (MSE) sector in national economic development, and has pursued a number of previous initiatives aimed at developing entrepreneurship and MSEs in T&T. “We have always considered MSEs as a viable mechanism for promoting entrepreneurial culture a viable base for employment generation as well as a primary vehicle for poverty eradication,” Dumas said.

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The 2009 Pioneers of Prosperity Caribbean program is pleased to announce that Bulkan Timber Works of Guyana has taken the competition’s grand prize. Alternative Insurance Company of Haiti and Totally Male Ltd. of Jamaica were also recognized. On September 11, 2009, ten finalists from seven countries across the Caribbean competed for a grant of US $100,000 to invest in the growth of their company, and the prestigious title of Pioneer of Prosperity.

The Honorable Orette Bruce Golding, Prime Minister of Jamaica, presided at the event and presented the grand prize.

From a highly competitive pool of 580 applications, ten Pioneers of Prosperity emerged representing some of the most innovative, dynamic businesses in the region. Each one of the finalists has already won a grant from the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) of US $40,000 and will be connected to a global network of technical expertise, potential investors, and other cutting-edge entrepreneurs.

“These ten entrepreneurs are role models for all of us. They built new distribution systems, found new and attractive markets, pay high and rising wages to their employees, and are outstanding corporate citizens of their respective nations. And they do this under challenging conditions-- never asking the government for favors, often beginning without specialized infrastructure or sufficient skills and abilities, but always with an eye to the future and their own self-determination ,” said Michael Fairbanks, co-founder and co-director of the Social Equity Venture Fund.

The Pioneers of Prosperity Awards Program is a global program made-up of regional competitions spanning the Caribbean, Africa and Central America. Seven countries participated in the inaugural Caribbean competition: Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. The program will launch in Central America on September 14, 2009.

Kenneth Hynes, Managing Director of the OTF Group who executes the global program offered the following: “We congratulate the 2009 Award winners and each of the finalists who all represent the best in Caribbean entrepreneurship. Each of them demonstrated the level of excellence, leadership and vision required to grow their businesses regionally and internationally. These entrepreneurs are important role models for others throughout the Caribbean wondering if they too can succeed in business.”

A distinguished panel of judges flew to Jamaica from around the globe to evaluate the firms. Judges included entrepreneur Willa Shalit; S.E.Ven Fund co-Director Andreas Widmer; Jamaican entrepreneur and Paymaster CEO Audrey Marks; 2008 Africa Pioneers of Prosperity winner Nicholas Nesbitt; and Inter-American Investment Corporation Deputy General Manager Steven Reed.

The Pioneers of Prosperity Program seeks to inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs in emerging economies by identifying, rewarding, and promoting outstanding small to medium size businesses who will serve as role models to their peers. The Program is sponsored by the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank, the John Templeton Foundation, and the Social Equity Venture Fund (S.E.VEN Fund) and was conceived and initiated by Michael Fairbanks, a recognized entrepreneur and author in the area of enterprise solutions to poverty. Michael Fairbanks is a co-founder of S.E.VEN Fund. The program has also built a network of over 35 local partners throughout the Caribbean. Jamaica Trade and Invest co-hosted the Final Awards Ceremony.

A brief description of each of the winners follows:

Sandra Samuels of Totally Male Limited (Jamaica), a company she founded in 1994 which offers Jamaican professional men with a full aesthetic upgrading experience

Alternative Insurance Company, founded in 2001 by Olivier Barrau (Haiti) to provide a range of insurance products adapted to the local market and specific products aimed at Haitians earning less than $4 a day

Howard Bulkan of Bulkan Timber Works, founded in 1997 (Guyana) was selected as a maker of house building materials from sustainably harvested wood, including wall cladding, tongue & groove flooring, wall studs and rafters, for clients across the Caribbean.

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The dynamic troika of Chit Juan, Jeannie Javelosa and Reena Francisco has given a new definition to social enterprise, which is a response to the current conditions. The Environment and Community Hope Organization—or Echo—Store is a business enterprise operating for a profit “but with a social cause,” said Juan, who heads the marketing component of Echo Store.

Founded six months ago, the Echo Store has become the hub of products made by various microentrepreneurs around the country. Furthermore, Echo Store is proving that there can be business at the bottom of the pyramid.

Juan, who is known for her marketing expertise, credits Javelosa and Francisco for their various skills in operating Echo Store.

Being an effective communicator, Javelosa handles the communication aspects of Echo Store. “You can’t just look at the numbers. The old way of doing business has to be looked at. What’s obviously emerging is a new trend where you have to reevaluate the way you do business and the way you look at profits,” Javelosa said.

“We’re fortunate enough that we are in this trend. Whatever you do is a way of helping. It also helps you make money by coming all together, make money together and profit together. But in the end, all that it brings helps the environment, helps other people’s livelihood,” Javelosa added.

Meanwhile, Francisco has the huge task of tackling the backroom operations of Echo Store. She is also responsible for handling the day-to-day operations of the store located in Serendra, Fort Bonifacio. Juan describes Francisco as the woman who keeps them “grounded,” or the one giving them the reality check in running the business.

“Jeannie and I are the dreamers, while Reena is the grounded person. We’ve learned in the last five months on how friends go into business. The beauty is that this is a social enterprise. You have to have a different perspective,” said Juan.

To become sustainable, a social enterprise must be profitable. For Echo Store, Juan said it must sell products that have high quality. To be able for communities to sell their products at Echo Store, Javelosa and Francisco evaluate the details of a certain product to determine if it can be sold at the store.

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IGNIA Fund I, LP announced today that it has committed US$3 million to Pro-Organico S.A.P.I. de C.V. in the Company's first round of equity financing. Pro-Organico is a leading grower and exporter of a broad line of USDA-certified organic produce. 

Pro-Organico links Mexican farmers to the rapidly-growing North American organic produce market by managing agricultural operations and coordinating logistics with distributors and retailers across the United States, Canada and Mexico. "By transforming small-scale farmers into organic producers and incorporating them into the global supply chain, Pro-Organico helps growers realize a significant increase in revenue per acre relative to conventional farming," said Alvaro Rodriguez Arregui, co-founder and Managing Partner of IGNIA. "Growth will also make it a platform for substantial job creation."

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Bolivia has been the success story in microfinance in Latin America in the last twenty years. I decided to spend one week in La Paz to better understand the business model of the Bolivian microfinance institutions. During the six day stay in La Paz I had the privilege of meeting the Executive Director of Bolivia’s Financial Services Supervisory Authority (ASFI) Ernesto Rivero, the former President of Bancosol and Prodem Fernando Romero Moreno, the President of the Bolivian Academy of Economic Sciences Gerardo Gonzalez, and the Country Director of Promujer Vivianne Romero.

Ernesto Rivero was appointed Executive Director last 8 May 2009 in a shift many argue grants the Morales Administration more control on the supervision of financial institutions. ASFI was previously named Superintendencia de Bancos. I asked Ernesto if the change in name and in Executive Director carried a change of approach. He mentioned he was determined to shift the focus of microcredit in Bolivia to more productive activities, away from commercial activities. He identified as productive activities agriculture and farming. Ernesto is concerned that the rural poor are not being reached by the microfinance institutions of Bolivia, some of which, including Bancosol, are among the most profitable in the whole of Latin America.

Fernando Romero Moreno shares Ernesto’s vision. He is concerned that the mainstream microfinance institutions, ie the more commercial institutions, are not serving the bottom of the pyramid, but have rather focused on higher incomes that are typically urban, although informal. Fernando was the President of Fundacion Prodem until the microfinance institution was sold to Venezuelan investors.

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Entrepreneurs, not scavengers

FOR more than 20 years Carmen Lasso has scrabbled a living of sorts for herself and her eight children by scavenging at a rubbish dump in Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city. Her life has brought the occasional pleasant surprise, such as the silver ring crowned with a tiny light-blue stone that she gleaned from the trash, and now wears. Another came in April when Colombia’s Constitutional Court ruled that she and tens of thousands of her fellow wastepickers should be officially recognised as “entrepreneurs”.

The ruling has a practical effect. The court ordered Cali’s city government to suspend the tender for a waste-management concession to give co-operatives of recicladores, as they are known, time to organise themselves and bid for the contract. The dump they worked at was shut down last year, as part of a reorganisation of waste disposal that has already seen three contracts given to private firms.

Adriana Ruiz, the lawyer who represented the wastepickers, argued that taking away their access to garbage violated their right to livelihood and life. She also challenged a new national law under which wastepickers can be fined up to the equivalent of $500 for sorting through trash in public places. The court ruled that future waste-disposal contracts “should favour and try to preserve the status of wastepickers as self-employed entrepreneurs”. The judges also suspended the fines levied by Cali’s municipal government for sorting rubbish in public.

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Jeronimo Ramos, a director at Banco Real in São Paulo, sounds like a man with a mission. “You have to operate inside local communities. You have to know your customer’s story at first hand. Because by giving people credit, you are creating well-being. About 70 per cent of people that get credit are lifted out of poverty as a result.”

Yet as Mr Ramos insists, Banco Real is not in the business of delivering social services. “We are not a philanthropic organisation,” he says. “You don’t just give people credit because they need it. They have to be able to pay. We’re here to make a profit.”

Banco Real was named Sustainable Bank of the Year by the FT in 2008, beating competition from banks in Europe, Asia and Africa where microfinance – lending small amounts to small and very small businesses – is more developed.

Yet Banco Real is not typical of low-income banking in Brazil as a whole. Its model is similar to that found in Asia, Africa and the rest of Latin America: giving loans to small businesses to promote development from the ground up. But the fastest expansion of low-income banking in Brazil has been in making small loans to consumers rather than to businesses.

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Mexico tends to be in the news for all the wrong reasons: financial crisis, illegal immigration, drug-lords, and most recently as the apparent origin of the H1N1 virus.

A recent visit there allowed me the privilege of seeing a very different side of Mexican life. It also stimulated reflection as to what lies ahead for India as it gets richer and urbanises further.

Mexico’s population of 105 million makes it the second most populous nation in Latin America after Brazil. Its per capita national income in 2007 of $8,340 causes it to be classified as an upper middle-income country by the World Bank, and it is two-thirds of the way to being classified as a high-income country. It is a member of the OECD; indeed the present Secretary-General of the OECD is a Mexican.

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