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Haiti Videos

Is Gilbert Bigio the richest man in Haiti?

January 1, 2004: First Investment Bank Launched in Haiti; Some Shareholders Have Dubious Pasts Seventy wealthy Haitians and Haitian-Americans officially launch Haiti's first investment bank, PromoCapital. The bank, a 50/50 joint-venture between Haitian and US shareholders, consists of two institutions: PromoCapital Haiti, SA—incorporated in Haiti as a "Societe Financiere de Developpement" —and PromoCapital USA, Inc,—a corporation registered in the state of Delaware.

The bank's headquarters are in Petionville, Haiti with representative offices in Washington, DC, and Aventura, Florida. Its founder, Dumarsais Simeus, who owns a large food-processing business in Texas, says the bank's investors hope to see annual returns on their investment in the mid- or high teens. He is also the chair of PromoCapital USA. Henri Deschamps, a prominent Port-au-Prince printing and media executive, is the chairman of PromoCapital Haiti.

Of the 70 names included on the list of PromoCapital shareholders, nine—Frederic Madsen, Gilbert Bigio, Gregory Brandt, Marc-Antoine Acra, Monique Bigio, Olivier Acra, Ronald Georges, Reuven Bigi, and Sebastien Acra—appear on a US Treasury Department list of people and organizations whose assets had been blocked by the US Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control under the Clinton Administration, until 1994. And one of them, Hans Tippenhauer, had told The Washington Post on February 23 that the Haitians had enthusiastically greeted the paramilitary rebel forces as "freedom fighters."

Controversy over Haiti's development

A new industrial park in Haiti will create jobs, but is it leading the country in a "race to the bottom"?

What does "Haiti is Open For Business" really means?

Laurent Lamothe, Haiti Foreign Affairs Minister speech at INVEST IN HAITI Forum. A event geared towards highlighting profitable business opportunities readily available in Haiti, especially in the apparel manufacturing, tourism, agribusiness and infrastructure sectors.

Martha Stewart visits Haiti in search of artisans and business opportunities

Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart visits Haiti to explore new opportunities for the island's artisans. Sophia Soo reports.

The state of radiology in Port-au-Prince, Haiti hospitals

An ACR delegation from the United States traveled to Haiti in March 2011 to assess the state of radiology in Port-au-Prince hospitals. This video is a multimedia supplement to the ACR Bulletin article, "Moving Mountains," about the College's efforts to assist since the January 2010 earthquake. Visit https://internationalservice.acr.org to learn more about the ACR's Haiti Relief Fund or to donate.

How to invest in Haiti Part 2

Continuing to send remittances to a bunch of young guys who could work is not an effective way for the Haitian Diaspora to help Haiti said Marc Saint Clair as he explains the who, what, where, when and why of investing in Haiti during the segment "Doing Business with Haiti" at the 2011 National Haitian American Forum.

Haiti: Mega Hotel in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

A mega hotel project in Port-au-Prince aims at enticing businesses and tourists back to Haiti which is still recovering from the January 12, 2010 earthquake. The hotel project is creating jobs...and hope.

How to invest in Haiti

How to invest in Haiti. Marc Saint Clair explains the who, what, where, when and why of investing in Haiti during the segment "Doing Business with Haiti" at the 2011 National Haitian American Forum.

How to start a business in Haiti

Marc Saint Clair, Managing partner at Haiti Ventures LLC draws the road map to get started with your own business in Haiti during the 2011 National Haitian American Forum

Homes Bel Vil, Petionville, Jacmel, Kenscoff, Haiti etc...

Beautiful homes in Bel Vil, Petionville, Jacmel, Kenscoff, Haiti etc...

The House in Haiti

This is a video that shows the side that the media does not show about those who live in Haiti. As every country their is the poor and also the wealthy. This is me giving you a tour of the house in Haiti hope you enjoy.

Agriculture Haiti - Egg farming

A group of families in rural Haiti have built a henhouse and are selling the eggs to supplement their income. An economist from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. advises them. Life is hard in the Haitian countryside, but people are diversifying their ways of making a living. (Video shot May 2010, completed January 2011.)

Haiti Reconstruction Promo Video
Relaxing in our cabana on Labadee, Haiti

Our little private hideaway on the island of Labadee, Haiti

Rebo, S.A. Haitian Coffee Company for 40 years

Rebo Haitian Coffee
REBO, S.A. Vice President - REBO is a 40 year company. For the first 20 years, the company used to do alot of exports and a little bit of roasting coffee for local markets. Now REBO is the main supplier of Haitian coffee.

American Apparel Companies Interested in Investing in Haiti

In 2008, the U.S. Congress passed a law, commonly known as Hope II, granting duty-free access for Haitian textiles. As of now few apparel companies have start operations in Haiti primarily because they strongly feel Haiti isn't ready for business.
Haiti's 'Tap Tap' Bus Art Flourishes After Quake

In the second part of a series of reports from Haiti, Adam Davidson of NPR's "Planet Money" reports on how the Haitian tradition of displaying vibrant, painstaking artistry on buses has continued to flourish, despite the earthquake.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy visits Haiti

French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives in Haiti, in what is the first visit by a French president to the country.

Fault Lines - Haiti: The politics of rebuilding

Just weeks after the earthquake that took more than 200,000 lives, Avi Lewis finds that debates over how to rebuild Haiti are already underway.

Haitian Company Struggles to Rebuild

Businesses in Haiti are struggling to recover from the devastating January 12 earthquake. Many workers have lost their jobs, and employers are trying to get their businesses up and running. Mike O'Sullivan visited Acra Industries, a large Haitian company. He reports that hundreds of company workers face weeks or months of lay-offs.

Riz Khan on Rebuilding Haiti

Weeks after Haiti's devastating earthquake, getting aid to the people remains difficult, coordination between relief agencies is haphazard and public frustration is on the rise. Riz Khan speaks to Edmond Mulet, the head of the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti, about the challenges facing the international community in managing Haiti's long-term recovery.

Haiti Agriculture project 25 Hectres

Omar Weston learns about 25 Hectres of land near Cap-Haitien, Haiti

How to Rebuild Haiti: Education

Education specialist Sophie Makonnen explains how the IDB will address the education needs of the country, a key sector in the reconstruction process

HAITI: BUSINESS IS SPROUTING IN MAKE-SHIFT CAMPS (U.N. MINUSTAH)

MaximsNewsNetwork: 05 February 2010 - U.N. MINUSTAH: Port-au-Prince, Haiti - Business is sprouting in this make-shift camp in the department of Delmas, as people are trying to cope with their current living and working situation following last months earthquake.

Celange Matthieu is a businesswoman and mother, who is now living in the camp with her six children. She can no longer make a profit with prices hitting record levels and her children are hungry.

SOUNDBITE (Creole) Celange Mathieu, Seller and mother of six:
Around here we havent received anything for the kids. I have six children. The boys eat a lot. They are asking me for food as soon as they get up. So we have to find a way to buy some spaghetti and sell it. The benefit is used to buy more food for kids.

But others like Franillon Saintil are trying to benefit from this new market. His former barbershop collapsed during the earthquake.

SOUNDBITE (Creole) Francillon Saintil, Barber:
I already worked for a barber shop behind (the prison of) Fort-Dimanche. I realized that there isnt any barbershop around here. So I opened this business.

And with so many Haitians who have relatives in the United States, Dorval Jean Amos opened a rental service for charging mobile phones after he noticed that power shortages made it difficult to use them.

SOUNDBITE (Creole) Dorval Jean Amos, Businessman:
This small business I opened is very important for the population in this settlement of St. Louis. After this disaster, for people who are having their families in the United States, they now have this way of communicating. Families in the states can also call here to find out if their relatives are alive and how they are coping.

UPSOUND (Creole) Yes, he is going to go back home. He comes and goes.

A new life is slowly growing out of the rubble in camps throughout Port-au-Prince where an estimated 1.1 million people are now living. ........................................ ........................................ .... ( UNITED NATIONS STABILIZATION MISSION IN HAITI: MINUSTAH ) ........................................ ........................................ ....MaximsNewsNetwork:
News Network for the United Nations and the International Community.
See: http://www.MaximsNews.com.
"GIVING POWER & RESONANCE TO THE VOICE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY"

The Haiti You will never see on TV

NOT EVERY PART IS A SLUM OR RUINS... This is what CNN, Nat Geo, Movies, or others never showed you guys before or after the quake. All we see is ugly! A lot is, but a lot isn't. Yes Haiti is veery poor, and it just got leveled by the earthquake, it will take many years to even get back close to normal. Port au Prince should have never been that poor and overcrowded, but with Haiti now all over the news and awareness is everywhere, people forget that its a whole country and not just Port au Prince. People can invest time, money and effort outside that crowded city. Many Haitians can relocate to the other provinces. Life can be restored somehow...

Many reasons as to why Haiti is the way it is after 200 years of freedom... Yes there has been corruption, but interference has devastated the place. We have all contributed to Haiti's misfortunes, but the former colonial power France and the current colonial power the US, bear most responsibility. They punished the former slaves for their temerity in throwing off both slavery and French colonial rule: the US could forgive them for kicking out the French, but to abolish slavery was unforgivable. Washington refused to recognise its neighbouring republic for 60 years.

By then, the French had virtually bankrupted Haiti through its demands for exorbitant reparations. Haiti was in the grip of a chronic political instability that was exacerbated by foreign interests keen to exploit both its weakness and its resources. In 1915 the US finally occupied the country, in part to remove the influence of rival European powers, and ran it like a colony for nearly 20 years. Haiti has rarely been free of US interference since.

The long-running dictatorship of Papa Doc Duvalier was supported by the US, as was the succession of his son, Baby Doc. After Baby Doc's departure, in 1986, the US attempted to fix the first elections, a policy that led directly to the election day violence in November 1987. Undeterred, Washington continued to meddle. When Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the hugely popular former priest, was finally elected president in 1991, he was ousted in a coup before the end of the year. President Clinton negotiated his return in 1994, reportedly on condition that he accept a US blueprint for Haiti's economic development. When Aristide won a second election in 2001, he was again deposed, in 2004, this time forcibly flown by George W Bush's administration to exile in Africa, where he remains.