Nava Laguerre
Aug 8, 2017 · 5 min read

Haiti to Launch Its First Tech & Innovation Incubator Center

Yes, after more than a year of working, the gov’t of Haiti is ready to launch the first Technology and Innovation Incubator Centre in the country. The centre is expected to a first in its kind, and a regional best. Since this gov’t initiated project precedes most of the recent tech-related developments coming out of Haiti over the past few months, the question remains — why haven’t you heard of it before?

After seeing this piece about Haiti, it jolted back to my consciousness that the international media love to publish negative and unappealing stories about and from Haiti. They are not to be blamed, as the Haitian media are forerunners in the negative presentation of Haitian stories. Haitian media is fond of making the Government du jour feel null and the international media feed off representing and portraying the Haitian state in this manner.

Not long after the first article, came this one. The more I thought about both pieces, the more bothered I became. It felt like most of the positive stories about Haiti are almost always link to NGO-related work. After a while, I took to Twitter to invite some international media organizations to publish a positive story about Haiti which has been bypassed and denied of the publicity it deserves.

Much to my surprise, no one responded. Then I said to myself, if no else will do it — then I will…after all, this is the beauty of platforms like Medium.

What if I tell you I have a positive story about Haiti? Spoiler alert: There is no NGO involved! Nope, it’s not about a local nor an international NGO coming to save Haiti and Haitians.

What if I tell you it’s a story about Haiti as a sovereign state making a matured decision to take destiny at hand? This is a 21st century equivalent of Haiti as a nation taking bold actions and choosing to become master of its future, as it did in 1791.

By this point, you may be wondering, “what is this decision?”

On the opening night of the Haiti Tech Summit, His Excellency, President Jovenel Moise spoke of two big initiatives: the first ever National Innovation Agenda and the launch of a Technology & Innovation Incubator Center.

S.E.M Jovenel Moise speaking at the Haiti Tech Summit

The international media present failed to realize the importance of this to the nation, and as such, they failed to pursue it further. To crown insult with injury, the established Haiti-based media and well-known local influencers to Haiti’s tech space, in a disappointing development chose to remain oblivious to such a significant move by the state.

I am Haitian-born and well in tune with our haïtianité; including its strengths and weaknesses. I gather that such government announcement fell on deaf ears in general, based on three reasons;

Targeted envy: some people do not want governmental efforts at revamping Haiti hyped so as not to overshadow their own projects, believing only their initiatives should enjoy public welcoming. This attitude belittles any positive work by gov’t and it promotes an image that the Haitian state is incapable of doing anything worthwhile.

Extreme lack of understanding of government’s policies: governmental policies, in most countries, are typically interpreted as the tone and/or direction an administration is setting for said country. It can speak to how a Head of State wishes to define his or her time in power. Which is why I was baffled that neither the international nor the local media attending the Tech Summit treated this announcement with the kind of press it deserves.

Knee- jerk tendency to depreciate or even worse, sabotage government’s positive aspirations and render those initiatives their due acclaim: When this administration announced it would stop subsidizing gasoline, there was so much fanfare. Members of the international media who write about Haiti inflated/inflamed the news, and local media didn’t show any mercy either. Meanwhile, where is the same kind of attention from the press when it comes to this BIG project gov’t initiated? How can the President attend an event, announce his administration is undertaking this kind of gov’t policy, which by the way can ‘Create a Culture of Revolution’ to bring about the ‘disruption’ Haiti needs, was heard, but never assimilated? This was the most important speech delivered at the Summit, yet it was treated as a footnote!

Why the National Innovation Agenda and the Incubator are FBD — F*cking Big Deal?

In short, it shows that this administration isn’t only being near-sighted, they’re prioritizing long term visionary projects as well.

The government is by this initiative beginning to define a path to the future of Haiti and its economy, and this is deserving of public attention by all entity, not regarding whether international or local.

Since conception and up to now, the Haitian government has insisted on building this incubator without foreign financing, as a message that they’re doing this on its terms and with its might. Which I find to be another way to reiterate that Haitians want to be masters of their destiny. As a matter of fact, this administration has a few times said ‘thanks -but no thanks’ to members of the International Funding Institutions who want to buy-out their say into this project. A telling sign in in itself!

No, this will not be the sole tech incubator in Haiti, but it remains the first and only one with full government backing. The expected deliverables for this incubator are what inspired the National Innovation Agenda. You see, this is no boutique incubator, which explains why it’s being led by the Office of the President. This Center presents a great opportunity for larger-scale, modern and BIG picture thinking ideas to be tested and implemented.

Personally, I think a project of this kind has the potential to not only boost national image by improving the state’s economic returns from internally generated revenue, but it also opens the door for new types of employment as well as bolster the existing workforce. Consequently, in the long run, translate to an improve standard of living for all Haitians. A good example can be found in the gradual commercialisation of Dubai from a little desert port to a world tourist centre — only that this time, Haiti is focusing on tech rather than tourism.

We have proposed an interview to discuss, from a national policy perspective, with the lead person working on this project to explain what it means for Haiti to establish a National Innovation Agenda and the strategic positioning of the Incubator. This interview will cover the relationships between these two goals, the kind of support required from Haitians to deliver on this vision, and how important it is for the state to execute this project without the intervention of NGOs.

Stay tuned, the full interview will be published very soon!

In the meantime, can you imagine what a success story it would be, if this government initiated and executed project was to later become known as a regional best in class. Just like la Citadelle Laferrière, a regional best in its class…built by the state, so too can this Center. I, for one, am all in support of the Haitian government having this win!

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