Skip to Main Content

RTI uses cookies to offer you the best experience online. By and clicking “accept” on this website, you opt in and you agree to the use of cookies. If you would like to know more about how RTI uses cookies and how to manage them please view our Privacy Policy here. You can “opt out” or change your mind by visiting: http://optout.aboutads.info/. Click “accept” to agree.

Accept
RTI International
  • About
    • Office Locations
    • Executive Leadership
    • Corporate Governance
    • Partner with Us
      • U.S. Government
      • Clients and Funding Agencies
      • Industry and Commercial Clients
      • Foundations and Associations
      • Bilateral Agencies and Multilateral Banks
      • Universities and Academic Research Institutions
      • Suppliers and Small Businesses
    • Commitment to Quality
      • RTI's Client Listening Program
    • Ethics and Human Research Protection
    • Living Our Mission
    • Open Science Initiative
    • Veteran Opportunities at RTI

    About

  • Practice Areas
    • Health
      • Public Health and Well-Being
      • Health Care Transformation
      • Behavioral Health
      • Health Behavior Change
      • Precision Medicine
      • RTI Health Solutions (RTI-HS)
      • RTI Center for Community Health Evaluation and Economics Research
      • Health Equity
      • RTI Health Advance
    • Transformative Research Unit for Equity​
      • Equity Capacity Building Hub
      • Social and Economic Justice Research Collaborative
      • Narrative Research and Community Engagement Lab
    • Education and Workforce Development
      • Early Childhood
      • K-12 Education
      • Postsecondary Education
      • Career and Adult Education and Workforce Development
      • Education Policy, Systems, and Governance
      • Education Research Methodologies
      • Education Technologies
    • International Development
      • Energy for Development
      • Environment
      • Global Food Security, Agriculture, and Nutrition
      • Global Health
      • International Education
      • Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, Learning, and Adapting (MERLA)
      • Youth and Economic Opportunity
      • Building Resilience Against COVID-19 in Developing Countries
      • Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH)
      • RTI Center for Governance
    • Climate Change
      • Clean Energy Technology and Renewables
      • Climate Finance
      • Climate Justice and Equity
      • Climate Planning, Preparedness and Resilience
      • Climate Policy
      • Climate Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Mitigation
      • Economic Impacts of Climate Change
    • Water
      • Food-Energy-Water Nexus
      • Water Quality
      • WASH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene)
      • Water Resources Management
    • Energy Research
      • Carbon Capture and Utilization
      • Biomass Conversion
      • Natural Gas
      • Energy Efficiency
      • Industrial Water
      • Syngas Processing
    • Environmental Sciences
      • Air Quality
      • RTI Center for Water Resources
      • Urban Sustainability
      • Toxics
      • Building Resiliency in the FEW Nexus
      • Climate Change Sciences and Analysis
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Justice
      • Sustainable Materials & Waste Management Solutions
    • Justice Research and Policy
      • RTI Center for Community Safety and Crime Prevention
      • RTI Center for Policing Research and Investigative Science
      • Child Well-Being and Family Strengthening
      • RTI Center for Forensic Sciences
      • Evidence-Based Strategies to Reduce Firearm Violence
    • Food Security and Agriculture
      • Market Systems Strengthening
      • Food Safety
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Global Food Security, Agriculture, and Nutrition
      • Climate-Smart Agriculture
      • Agricultural Innovation
      • Obesity Prevention
    • Innovation Ecosystems
      • Innovation Advising
      • Innovation for Economic Growth
      • Innovation for Emerging and Developing Economies
      • Innovation for Organizations
      • Research, Technology, and Innovation Policy
      • Technology Acceleration
    • Military Support
      • Military Behavioral Health
      • Military Health and Human Performance
      • Military Sexual Assault, Harassment, and Domestic Violence Prevention
      • Wearable Sensor Technologies
      • Military Health System Transformation
      • North Carolina Center for Optimizing Military Performance

    Practice Areas

  • Services + Capabilities
    • Surveys and Data Collection
      • Survey Design
      • Instrument Development
      • Survey Methodologies
      • Data Collection
      • Establishment Surveys
      • Health Registries
      • Data Analysis and Reporting
      • Research Operations Center
    • Statistics and Data Science
      • Survey Statistics
      • Environmental Statistics
      • Coordinating Centers for Multisite Studies
      • Analysis and Design of Complex Data
      • Biostatistics
      • RTI Center for Data Science
    • Evaluation, Assessment and Analysis
      • Evaluation Design and Execution
      • Advanced Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods
      • Evaluation, Monitoring, and Assessment
      • Economic Analysis
      • Evaluating Communication Interventions and Campaigns
      • Evidence Synthesis for Policy and Practice
      • Risk Assessment and Prediction
    • Program Design and Implementation
      • Systems Strengthening and Scaling
      • Capacity Assessment and Building
      • Policy Reform Support
      • Curriculum and Teacher Professional Development
      • Interventions and Prevention Programs
      • Implementation Science
    • Digital Solutions for Social Impact
      • Human-Centered Design of Digital Solutions
      • Digital Product Development
      • Digital Communication Campaigns
      • Digital Data Analytics
    • Research Technologies
      • Survey Technologies
      • Data Management and Decision Support Systems
      • Geospatial Science, Technology, and Visualization
      • ICT for Limited-Resource Settings
      • Mobile Applications
      • Web Applications
      • Bioinformatics
      • Interactive Computing
    • Drug Discovery and Development
      • Medicinal Chemistry
      • Molecular Design and Cheminformatics
      • Behavioral Pharmacology
      • Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK)
      • In Vitro Pharmacology, Bioassay Development, and High-Throughput Screening (HTS)
      • Isotope Labeling
      • Regulatory Consulting and Support for Medical Products
    • Analytical Laboratory Sciences
      • Bioanalytical and Toxicology Research
      • Forensic Sciences
      • Physicochemical Characterizations
      • Metabolomics
      • Proficiency Testing and Reference Materials
      • Microbiology
      • Analytical Chemistry and Pharmaceutics
    • Engineering & Technology R&D
      • Biomedical Technologies
      • Decarbonization Sciences
      • Environmental Exposure & Protection
      • Materials & Environment
      • Sustainable Energy Solutions

    Services + Capabilities

  • Impact
    • Newsroom
    • Insights Blog
    • Events
    • Publications
    • RTI Press
      • About the RTI Press
      • Instructions for Authors
      • RTI Press Collections
    • Projects
    • Global Reach
      • Asia
      • Eastern Europe and Central Asia
      • RTI International India
      • Africa
      • Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
      • Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)

    Impact

  • Experts
    • Our Experts
    • In-Depth With Our Experts
    • Related News
    • Experts In the Media
    • RTI Fellow Program

    Experts

  • Emerging Issues
    • COVID-19 Research
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Global Health Security
    • Cannabis Research
    • Opioid Research
      • Interventions for Opioid Use Disorders
      • Preventing Opioid Misuse and Overdose
      • Treating Opioid Use Disorders
    • Policing Research and Investigative Science
    • Drone Research and Application
    • E-cigarette Research
    • Zika Virus Research
    • Integrated Governance

    Emerging Issues

  • COVID-19 Research + Response
  • Global Reach
  • Insights Blog
  • Newsroom
  • RTI Press
  • Publications
  • Partner With Us
  • Careers
  • Facebook IconTwitter IconInstagram IconYouTube IconLinkedin Icon
Impact

Expanding Opportunities in High-Potential Industries in Haiti

  • Home
  • Impact
  • Expanding Opportunities in High-Potential Industries in Haiti

A multi-sector effort to train workers, create jobs, and strengthen Haiti’s economy

Achieving economic and social stability in the face of natural disasters and other longstanding difficulties is a crucial challenge for Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and one in which more than two-thirds of workers do not have formal jobs.

In 2013, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) chose RTI to lead a strategic enterprise and workforce development program for Haiti. This effort, known as Haiti Local Enterprise and Value Chain Enhancement, or Haiti LEVE, was designed to stimulate job creation by building up enterprises and strengthening value chains in three sectors:

  • Agribusiness
  • Apparel and textiles
  • Construction.

By focusing on micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises in these sectors, each of which has its own opportunities and challenges, we hoped to effect long-term changes that improved the lives of Haiti’s more than 10 million citizens.

Video

In the words of the LEVE partners, discover how this USAID-funded project impacted their paths, transformed the way they operate and, with them, strengthened their value chains and sparked job creation in Haiti.

Boosting Investment and Creating Jobs through Targeted Assistance in Key Industries

The overarching mission of Haiti LEVE was to spur private-sector investment that creates jobs in the targeted sectors. We conducted in-depth assessments of each sector, identifying value chains with the highest market potential, firms that could support program initiatives, and vocational schools ready to link their offerings more directly with market needs. Once we identified opportunities, LEVE provided a mix of technical assistance, capacity development, training and cost-shared funding to address constraints and produce results.

An outstanding example is LEVE’s work in the agri-food sector. With the devaluation of the Gourde, imports are becoming more expensive for middle-class Haitians, creating an opportunity for locally sourced and produced food products such as cookies, jams, condiments, and juices. LEVE’s support to the sector—made up of a high proportion of women-owned small businesses—have improved competitiveness, leading to increased market penetration, increased sales and most importantly, increased purchases of raw materials being produced in the rural areas of Haiti. This strengthening of the value chain was accomplished through a combination of improved standards and quality, improved packaging, and improved cooperation between firms.

In Haiti’s apparel export sector, there is high potential to create jobs in the short to medium term. Under LEVE, we worked with the industry to develop favorable policies, collaborated with individual firms to address strategic and production issues, advised training providers on specific needs for supervisory and skilled-trade positions, and consulted with several privately-owned free trade zones to facilitate the entry of thousands of workers into the formal workforce.

To tap into the potential for job creation within the construction sector, LEVE focused on linking vocational training schools with private construction firms. Working with a US construction firm in northern Haiti, LEVE helped more than 80 skilled tradespeople—including masons, plumbers, and carpenters—find work on three job sites. The firm provided on-the-job training and testing, and advised a private vocational school on curriculum development. Parallel to this activity, LEVE also helped vocational schools become job placement centers by building their links with alumni and the private sector.

Also, in 2015 LEVE sponsored Haiti’s first construction trade fair. The event brought together family-owned construction businesses to share ideas and build connections, and included a “Skills Olympiad” where vocational students demonstrated their construction talents. Working with SkillsUSA and other partners, LEVE supported the organization of a second Skills Olympiad in 2017.

Building on Success through Innovation and a Focus on Sustainability

Since taking on Haiti LEVE, we have built connections and learned lessons that set the project on a path to success. The rising living standards of formally employed workers are just one example of how the targeted approach of Haiti LEVE is leading to positive change for ordinary Haitians. This partnership and other successes in the first three years of the project led USAID to extend Haiti LEVE through June 2019, providing additional funding to support our work.  

We are committed to continuing our efforts toward human and institutional capacity development in this historically troubled economy. In the years ahead, we will continue to seek out innovative ideas and practices that help build Haiti’s agribusiness, apparel, and construction enterprises into sustainable industries that provide steady employment for the Haitian people, while strengthening their country’s position in the international community.

Share

Clients

  • U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

Practice Areas

Youth and Economic Opportunity Market Systems Strengthening

Services

Capacity Assessment and Building

Countries

Haiti

Learn More

Video: Changing the Image of Haiti

Video: Strengthening Haitian Companies through Business Coaching

Video: Building Linkages in Haiti's First Construction Fair & Olympiad Skills Competition

Policy Brief: Adapting to Learn and Learning to Adapt: Practical Insights from International Development Projects

Medium Blog: Women at Work - Meet some of the inspiring women business owners who are driving change in Haiti

RTI Logo
Partner With Us
  • US Government
  • Commercial
  • Foundations & Associations
  • Multilateral Donors
  • Universities
  • Suppliers
Site
  • Privacy Policy
  • Security Policy
  • Site Map
  • Terms of Use
  • Accessibility
  • Contact Us
Contact Us
Facebook Icon Twitter Icon Instagram Icon YouTube Icon Linkedin Icon
delivering the promise of science
for global good
RTI Health Solutions RTI Innovation Advisors RTI Health Advance

© 2023 RTI International. RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute. RTI and the RTI logo are U.S. registered trademarks of Research Triangle Institute.