What: This seminar was made possible through the collaboration of FOCAL and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). It brought together leaders from the business and social investment community in Canada, the U.S. and Haiti, as well as high-level representatives from the IDB to discuss innovative business models in Haiti and engage in an action-oriented conversation.

Topics of discussion included:

• The role of private social investment in Haiti
• How innovative business models can provide solutions to support development in more sustainable ways
• Good examples, best practices, and areas with the greatest opportunities
• The biggest challenges and how to overcome them
• How organizations such as FOCAL and the Inter-American Development Bank can support innovative social investment initiatives in Haiti
• The most effective ways to collaborate on such issues

When: Thursday, March 24, 2011

Where: Calgary Convention Centre, Calgary, Canada

Who: Kathryn Hewlett-Jobes, Chair of FOCAL's Board of Directors, appeared as a panelist with Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank, and Ericq Pierre, Senior Counselor for Haiti at the Inter-American Development Bank.

From left to right: Luis Moreno, President, Inter-American Development Bank; Kathryn Hewlett-Jobes, Chair of the Board of Directors, FOCAL; Ericq Pierre, Senior Counselor for Haiti, Inter-American Development Bank

Read the IDB summary of the seminar: Business leaders highlight new ways of doing business in Haiti

Lisez un article sur la réunion BID et la participation de Haïti (AlterPresse, 29 mars 2011): Haïti présente à l’assemblée annuelle de la Banque Interaméricaine de Développement