10 Projects From 7 Cities In Haiti Selected For MEnvesti.com Crowdfunding Platform

Founded in December 2017 by Lovens Gjed, an award-winning entrepreneur based in Florida, MEnvesti LLC created the eponym online crowdfunding platform to facilitate 0% interest loans from the Haitian diaspora to entrepreneurs in Haiti. With more than $3 billion in remittance in 2018, Haiti receives more money from the diaspora than it does from foreign aid. Their objective is to encourage our fellow Haitians abroad to create a new channel of money transfers towards more production of local goods and services.

Following the launch of the service in Gonaïves last year, MEnvesti.com has recently received its first team of entrepreneurs who are doing their campaign via the crowdfunding platform. $10,000 is necessary to finance these initiatives of young people who want to create their future in Haiti, and their businesses will be implemented in seven different cities in the country.

Each entrepreneur submitted a business plan which was evaluated by a group of five analysts in Haiti. The analysts are students from various universities in Gonaïves and Port-au-Prince, and each one was assigned a different focus area to examine the projects via a crowdsourcing process.

“While evaluating each submitted business plan, our analysts took into account five focus areas such as the sustainability and feasibility of the project, the composition of the team, the innovative nature, and the social impact of each project. We recommended that they consider above all the degree of viability of the projects and their ability to remain competitive over time in light of the local conditions. The diversity of projects combined with the commitment of our analysts have enriched these initial evaluations and opened the door to new projects,” said Nishina Prévilon, COO of MEnvesti.com.

Ten of the entrepreneurs who had submitted their projects started their crowdfunding campaign last month. The projects cover several business sectors, ranging from the transformation of local products to support young artists in music production, catering service, beekeeping, and waste upcycling.

“The support of the diaspora community is essential to continue to give hope to the Haitian youth. We invite all Haitian internet users and local institutions to help promote these projects and lend to those entrepreneurs. Together we can achieve a lot and keep our young people involved in the future of the country,” said Lovens Gjed, Chairman & CEO of MEnvesti.com.

The projects presented below in alphabetical order are already highlighted on the organization’s blog site, MEnvesti WEEKLY, and are posted online on the crowdfunding platform:

AgriPlis Ayiti, located in Cap-Haitien, provides technical education programs to farmers in the region.
Bazilik Ayiti, located in Port-au-Prince, aims to revolutionize the lives of Haitian artists by improving the Haitian music market.
Cocktail de Lilie, located between Ennery and Port-au-Prince, serves cocktails made with Spanish lime and presented in specialized packaging to residents of the Artibonite department.
Jokenbo ENR, located in Gonaïves, Jokenbo, offers pastry services, including chocolate patties, to local students.
Kokonella, located in Gonaïves, is an original brand of alcoholic beverages made mainly from coconut milk and syrup.
Lakou17, located in the Silo community of Delmas, is a local grocery store that delivers quality grocery products to the client’s home at a low cost.
Lyne Délices, located in Pétion-Ville, operates in the agro-industrial sector, mainly in the production of peanut butter and jam.
Or d’Haiti (ORHA), located in Camp Perrin, focuses on honey production and offers education programs to beekeepers.
Top Corner, located in Delmas, offers catering services using local products and ingredients.
ValPlast, located in Port-au-Prince, presents as an environmental project which aims to turn plastic waste into paving stones and contribute to the protection of the Haitian environment.

“One of our objectives for this first group is to promote local production and to assist entrepreneurs facing cash flow difficulties. Our organization is a socioeconomic effort aiming at connecting Haitian entrepreneurs to 0% interest loans from the diaspora, “adds John Peter Adolphe, Partnership officer.