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 46 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 50,000 borrowers and 250,000 savers, and is divided into three entities:
- Fonkoze, a Haitian non-profit which pilots new programs and branches that are not-yet sustainable and provides services such as health education and literacy training.
- Fonkoze Financial Services, a Haitian financial institution which operates most of Fonkoze's financial services portfolio.
- Fonkoze USA, which seeks support from donors and members of the Haitian diaspora.
History
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.[1]
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.[2] In 2009, Fonkoze held a major conference on the effects of the current recession on Haitians and Haitian Americans.[3] 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.[4]