A diaspora investment conference organized in 2022 attempted to harness the economic potential of Haiti’s large and successful diaspora community, bringing together Haitian-American and Haitian-Canadian entrepreneurs, investors, and business figures to explore opportunities for productive investment in Haiti despite the challenging political and security environment. The conference reflected continued diaspora commitment to Haiti’s economic development even under extremely difficult conditions.
Presenters at the conference highlighted sectors where diaspora investment could make a meaningful difference: technology, agriculture, renewable energy, healthcare, and education. They pointed to examples of successful diaspora-funded enterprises in Haiti that had managed to operate through the crisis by combining local knowledge with external capital and management expertise.
The obstacles to investment were acknowledged candidly. Investors described the challenges of operating in an environment without reliable electricity, with inadequate transportation infrastructure, with legal systems unable to enforce contracts, and with security conditions that made normal business operations dangerous in many areas. The risk premium for investing in Haiti was enormous, limiting investment to those with the highest risk tolerance, the deepest Haitian connections, or both.
Conference organizers argued that even modest increases in diaspora investment could have significant impact in an economy as small and resource-constrained as Haiti’s. They called for specific policy measures to reduce barriers for diaspora investors, including streamlined business registration, investment protection provisions, and diaspora bonds that could mobilize savings in a structured way. The conference’s aspirations exceeded what the security and political situation made immediately feasible, but it kept the economic vision alive through a period of crisis.