Arc Projects in Haiti

Renewable Energy Microfinance and Microenterprise Program (REMMP)

Arc is testing, piloting and expanding a number of business models that are focused on financing for sustainable energy including microfinance, remittances, asset finance, crowd-funding and pay as you go mechanisms. The end goal of REMMP is to increase access to finance for end-users of clean energy services so as to improve livelihoods and quality of life among these target recipients.
For full details on REMMP project, click here


Linking Energy and Microfinance: Promoting Innovations That Foster Scale

Arc published and disseminated in depth research on new financial products that MFIs are developing to blend financing with energy and water around the world. The creation of these financial products - including lending, savings, remittances and leasing products - resulted in new alliances between MFIs and other entities such as energy and water enterprises to provide livelihood enhancement products to the poor.


Access to Sustainable Energy Technologies Using Remittances as a Source of End-User Finance

Arc tested an innovative and untraditional remittance transfer model identified during market research conducted by Arc in 2009 as being attractive to both remitters and receivers. The goal of the project was to radically increase the availability and number of sustainable energy products for Haitian consumers, using remittances as the financing source.


Arc Knowledge Products for Haiti

Financing Small-Scale Clean Energy Using Remittances

With assistance from Arc, Sogexpress, a Money Transfer Organization, has tapped into the multi-billion-dollar remittance stream from the Haitian diaspora to supply small-scale clean energy solutions to Haitians lacking energy services. In this Briefing Note, read a synopsis of Sogexpress’ pioneering remittances model, which is successfully supplying solar products to those who need them most. Read our Briefing Note (PDF) ►


Seventh Microfinance Panel: Financing Solutions for Clean Energy in Latin America

Arc Finance Managing Director Niki Armacost discusses Financing Solutions for Clean Energy in Latin America at the Americas Society/Council of the America’s 7th Microfinance Panel in New York City, January 30, 2014. She is joined by panelists Gregory Watson, Head, Strategic Planning and Team Leader, Clean Energy, Multilateral Investment Fund, Inter-American Development Bank; and Amy Wang, Investment Officer, Global Social Investment Funds, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas. The panel was moderated by Christian Gómez, Jr., Director of Energy, Council of the Americas.


Using Remittances to Finance Clean Energy: Inspiring the Haitian Diaspora to Combat Climate Change

Haiti has one of the lowest electricity access rates in the world, with only 12.5% of its population legally connected to the grid. Remittances offer a new solution for helping to finance the purchase and distribution of energy devices. Given its energy needs, and the size and location of its diaspora-based population, Haiti was an ideal country to test a remittances-backed business model for clean energy. The model uses remittance flows to facilitate the purchase and distribution of small-scale renewable energy devices, thereby fostering the use of clean and efficient energy technology among the energy-poor. Read our Case [...]


Financing Sustainable Energy Through Remittance Flows in Haiti and the Dominican Republic

2009 Arc Finance / BASE Arc Finance, BASE, and the Mexican market research firm Mercaei collaborated on a research project to assess the feasibility of using remittances to finance renewable energy products. The project team conducted market research with Haitian and Dominican immigrants in the New York area to understand and assess their interest in tying a portion of their remittances to an energy loan or savings product in the receiving country. The Dominican Republic and Haiti made excellent “laboratory” sites for this research because of similarities in immigrant populations, high remittance volumes, and geographical proximity. Their differences — in [...]