Summative evaluation of the Haiti integrated financing for value chains and enterprises (HIFIVE) program

HIFIVE is a financial sector service program designed to expand financial inclusion by increasing the availability of financial products and services to individual entrepreneurs and to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in targeted value chains in semi-urban and rural areas of Haiti. USAID/Haiti awarded HIFIVE in June 2009 as a 36 month (base period) cooperative agreement with two one-year extension options. In May 2102, USAID extended the project life for an additional two years, until May 31, 2014. The main objective of the evaluation was to review the effectiveness of the HIFIVE program as well as the sustainability and viability of its accomplishments to date. Of particular interest was to analyze the permanence of the changes that have occurred in the availability of finance for MSMEs, and in the financial services that are provided to them. In addition, the evaluation had to respond to three specific questions related to: (1) the effectiveness of the projects work to strengthen value chains and provide financial services to them; (2) the extent to which the project provided access to credit to the agricultural sector; and (3) the extent to which the interventions of the project have contributed to the viability of mobile banking in Haiti. Some of the findings the evaluators found are: (1) HIFIVE's work to provide value chain finance is highly effective; (2) the project-supported credit initiatives carried out by its financial partner institutions are sustainable; (3) HIFIVE's work to provide financial products for value chains is highly relevant; and (4) HIFIVE's work to provide value chain financing in rural and agricultural areas has great impact on the livelihood of micro- and small-scale borrowers. The evaluation report also contains additional findings, plus numerous conclusions and recommendations. (Excerpt, modified)