MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Gates Foundation, USAID Offer $15m to Initiators of Mobile Money Services in Haiti

The US-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the US Agency for International Development (AID) have announced a USD 15 million fund to encourage companies to initiate mobile financial services in Haiti. Mobile money services have the potential to reduce the risks and costs of financial transactions while increasing adoption of services like savings, insurance and utilities. Two companies will be eligible to receive a total of USD 4 million for launching services within the next six to 12 months. USD 6 million will be awarded as incentives for the completion of the first 5 million transactions. The remainder will be disbursed for technical assistance through AID’s Haiti Integrated Finance for Value Chains and Enterprise (HIFIVE) initiative and as employment programs that include removing rubble from roadways and implementing rain mitigation measures.

Sources and resources:

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Press Release: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/press-releases/Pages/building-assets-with-mobile-money-service-in-haiti-100608.aspx

MicroCapital Universe profile on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Bill+and+Melinda+Gates+Foundation

MicroCapital Universe profile on US Agency for International Development (AID): https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=United+States+Agency+for+International+Development+%28USAID%29

For a suite of tools intended to improve the impact of USAID microenterprise programs, you may visit http://www.microLINKS.org