Fonkoze/American Jewish World Service
Fonkoze is Haiti’s “alternative bank for the organized poor”, working to promote democracy in Haiti through economic development. Fonkoze is a membership organization with a proven track record of supporting the rural poor through micro-lending to women borrowers. Fonkoze serves the very poor — 72% of its members were living on under $2 per day before the earthquake. Fonkoze’s clients cannot afford to rebuild their homes and would be permanently reduced to even deeper poverty and ongoing hardships than before the earthquake.
Moreover, Fonkoze is one of the few MFIs in Haiti that is truly grassroots. Fonkoze was founded in 1994 by a Haitian who started the institution with little more than a vision: a vision to provide the means for all Haitians, even the poorest, to participate in the economic development of the country. His target group was women, because as he declared, “Women are the backbone of the Haitian economy and the doorway into the family unit.”
Team
Anne H. Hastings
Read MoreAnne Hastings has been directing Fonkoze – Haiti’s largest microfinance institution – since May 1996. Under her leadership, the institution has grown from 2 volunteer employees to almost 900 full-time employees. The institution now has 46 branches throughout rural Haiti, with over 275, 000 clients, more than 60, 000 of whom have microcredit loans. In July 2004, Fonkoze spun off its financial services component to form Fonkoze Financial Services, a non-bank financial institution. Anne has been serving on the board of directors of that institution since its inception. In 2009, she was named CEO. She also continues to be very involved in the foundation, which is now devoted to monitoring the impact of microfinance on the lives of clients and continually testing and developing innovative new products for the clients of both the commercial entity and the foundation.
In March 2011, Fonkoze and SFF became investors in the Microinsurance Catastrophe Risk Organisation (MiCRO), an innovative insurance facility developed by a team of strategic shareholders that includes MercyCorps, Swiss Re, Caribbean Risk Managers Ltd, GC Micro Risk Solutions and Fonkoze/SFF. Anne dedicated much of the year following Haiti’s disastrous earthquake to launching this initiative, which is empowering poor families to protect themselves against the economic aftermath of severe natural catastrophes. She serves on the Board of Directors of this institution.
Anne is the recipient of the 2005 Pioneer in Microfinance Award of the Grameen Foundation USA. In 2006, she was honored in the First Annual Chiapas Project Recognition Dinner in Dallas, Texas. In 2008, she was honored at the United Nations with an award from Women Together because of her commitment to the elimination of extreme poverty and hunger. The Schwab Foundation named her Social Entrepreneur of 2010 in Latin America. In addition, Anne serves on the following Global Steering Committees: (1) SMART Campaign (2) Seal of Excellence for Poverty Outreach and Transformation in Microfinance (3) Social Performance Task Force (4) Global Agenda Council on Catastrophic Risks.
Anne holds a PhD from the University of Virginia and an Honorary Doctorate in Business Leadership from Duquesne University.
Fr. Joseph B. Philippe, CSSp
Read MoreFather Joseph B. Philippe, CSSp, founded Fonkoze – Haiti’s largest microfinance institution – in 1994 and continues to serve as Coordinator of Fonkoze, President of Fonkoze Financial Services, and a Board Director of Fonkoze USA. Father Joseph is also the founder of the Peasant Association of Fondwa (“APF”) and has been its coordinator since 1988. As part of his work with APF, Father Joseph established and helps manage numerous commercial projects, including an agricultural, reforestation and animal husbandry project, a bakery, a guest center/educational tourist program and a restaurant, as well as an auto parts shop, a guest house, a cement store and a scaffolding rental company. In 2004, Father Joseph also founded the University of Fondwa, an educational institution committed to sustainable and integrated development in rural Haiti.
In 1982, Father Joseph became a member of the Spiritan Catholic Holy Order (Holy Ghost Fathers) and was ordained as a priest. From 1993 to 2001, he was a Bursar for the Spiritan Order, and a member of the Spiritan Order’s Executive Council. He has also served as a member of the Spiritan Order’s training program team for seminarians since 1995. In 2004, Father Joseph was elected the Provincial Superior for the Haiti province of the Spiritan Fathers and served a three-year term. Father Joseph holds an undergraduate degree in commercial accounting from the Ecole de Commerce André Laroche, Port-au-Prince, Haiti and a masters of divinity degree with special studies in liturgy and politics from Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. He has also studied credit cooperative management at the Centre Lebret in Paris, and attended training in banking administration at Fairfield University in Connecticut.
Father Joseph was named Social Entrepreneur of 2010 for Latin America by the Schwab Foundation. Also in 2010, the University of San Francisco conferred upon Father Joseph the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.