On October 23rd, was launched the Haiti Housing Finance Facility, a project meant to make home mortgages available to low-income families in Haiti. The project, managed by Development Innovations Group (DIG), will also make repair loans available to homeowners and small business owners affected by the earthquake. 

“This project will make it possible for more Haitians to borrow the money they need to purchase or repair their homes and, as a result, to significantly improve their quality of life,” DIG President and CEO Franck Daphnis said. “It marks a key step towards achieving long-term, sustainable economic recovery in Haiti.”

More than 4,000 Haitian homeowners and small business owners can expect to benefit from the project’s three new loan products, which are targeted toward lower-income borrowers. These products include housing micro-finance loans that start at $1,000; micro-mortgages that start at $5,000; and loans for the construction and repair of businesses that start at $3,000. They will be available through local Haitian finance organizations, including banks and micro-finance institutions.

The Housing Finance Facility is a $26 million project that combines $3 million from the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, $17 million in loans from OPIC to create the three new loan products, and a $6 million grant from USAID for operating expenses and capacity building for loan providers.

“More accessible financing gives Haiti’s working poor the opportunity to own their own home and, in doing so, their own future,” Clinton Bush Haiti Fund CEO Gary Edson said. “These borrowers are also bolstering the construction sector, hiring building teams, and multiplying the positive impact the project has on Haiti’s economy.”