Haiti is the poorest country in the entire Western hemisphere. While the Haitian citizens are willing to work there are no jobs for them. Government subsidies on sugar and other constant donations from Americans who are trying to “help” have badly degraded the countries economy.

Marc Alain Boucicault a 30 year old Fulbright Scholar, and former economist for the World Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank. He is putting his years of experience to work as a social entrepreneur. His goal is to change the current narrative of Haiti and help benefit the economy.
Boucicault recently launched Haiti’s first co-working space for technology entrepreneurs in Haiti. His new venture is Banj was kicked of at a tech conference that included representatives from industry leaders at Facebook and Google. He hopes to see technology infuse into the traditional Haitian economy , giving rural farmers and business owners access to international markets, eventually narrowing the countries overwhelming trade deficit.

He has built the business with sponsorship rather than loans or equity. The members and tenants cover the infrastructure costs and the partners fund program costs. This business sprang from his experience as an economist. “As a young economist, I was frustrated by writing about the macroeconomics of Haiti marked by a negative real growth over the past 30 years. I saw hope in the young entrepreneurs I was meeting everyday but knew there was a long way to go before they can bring a change to the economy. I knew that if one day, I could find a working model to help, I would want to go and do that full time,” and now he has.

He has made so much progress so quickly that it is changing the perception of what is possible in Haiti. In the past year alone he has been a partner for Google, Facebook, Startup Grind Port Au Prince, Hult Prize Haiti and more.”
It is amazing to see someone striving to make a real difference in Haiti instead of “helping” in a way that simply makes them feel good about themselves.