Fonkoze
| Founded | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Fr. Joseph Phillipe and Anne H. Hastings |
| Type | Domestic: 501(c)(3), Haitian Non-profit, Haitian Bank |
| Focus | Poverty |
| Location | |
|
Area served
|
Haiti |
| Method | Microfinance |
| Slogan | Building economic foundations for democracy in Haiti |
| Website | www.fonkoze.org |
Fonkoze is Haiti's largest microfinance institution serving poor and ultra-poor women in rural Haiti, with over 40 branches located throughout the country. The name Fonkoze is an acronym for the Haitian Creole phrase “Fondasyon Kole Zepòl” meaning “Shoulder-to-Shoulder Foundation.” Its mission is to build the economic foundations for democracy in Haiti by providing the rural poor with the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty. It has more than 64,000 borrowers and 250,000 savers, and is divided into three entities:
In 1994, 32 grassroots leaders drew up Fonkoze's founding papers, and in 1995, the organization received official recognition under Haitian law. Father Joseph Philippe, a Catholic priest, recruited Washington-based management consultant Anne H. Hastings to run the organization.
In 2004, Fonkoze joined with Zanmi Lasante and Joseph N. Lasante, a major Haitian rural health care provider. The two foundations collaborated to build a bank and hospital in Boucan Carre. In 2009, Fonkoze held a major conference on the effects of the current recession on Haitians and Haitian Americans. In 2012, Fonkoze's Solid Women video won a Do-Gooder award for its story of five Haitian women who used Fonkoze microloans to help successfully rebuild their community in the wake of the 2010 earthquake.
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Wikipedia