USAID's Economic Growth Project Was Not On Track To Facilitate More Productive and Inclusive Value Chains in Haiti

A devastating earthquake in 2010 destroyed much of Haiti’s productive infrastructure and disrupted the entire Haitian economy. As the country struggled to recover, the Haitian Government recognized that micro-, small, and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) could play an important role in creating new jobs and improving working conditions in the country. USAID/Haiti developed the Local Enterprise and Value-Chain Enhancement Project to support MSMEs and create jobs by making value chains more productive and inclusive. We found that the project was not on track to achieve this goal, as project activities had done little to produce inclusive value chains, generate broad-based economic growth, or increase employment. In addition, the mission did not effectively monitor the project’s progress or overall impact. The mission agreed with and took corrective actions on our two recommendations to improve USAID/Haiti’s implementation and monitoring of the project.