Tuesday, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced that three institutions from Haiti, Brazil and Ecuador won the Juscelino Kubitschek Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions in two categories : "Economics and Finance" and "Social, Cultural, and Scientific."

This award is named after the well-known Brazilian President (1956–1961), who was instrumental in the creation of the IDB, the world’s first regional development bank.

The Selection Committee announced the winners : "Instituto Promundo" from Brazil and "Fondo Ecuatoriano Populorum Progressio" (FEPP) from Ecuador shared the prize in the "Social, Cultural, and Scientific" category. Fonkoze from Haiti won in the "Economics and Finance" category.

In addition to the awards, the Selection Committee granted honorable mentions to three organizations in recognition of their excellent work : "Acción Emprendedora" from Chile, "Fundación PROFIN" from Bolivia and Y"oung Marine Explorers" from The Bahamas.

The 4th edition of the award, presented every two years, focused on innovation. It received nearly 400 nominations, representing organizations from 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. For each category there is a US$100,000 prize, which can be divided equally among winners, in case there is more than one per category. The awards ceremony will be held in April in The Bahamas, during the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the IDB.

Learn more about Fonkoze Haiti :

Fonkoze has fostered social inclusion in Haiti for the last 20 years. It includes Sèvis Finansye Fonkoze (SFF), the country’s largest microfinance institution and the Fonkoze Foundation, which provides complementary education, health and business development services to SFF clients and members of the community. SFF’s objective is two-fold: to lift Haitian families and communities out of poverty and move them towards financial independence. SFF is also committed to extending services to the most vulnerable communities in Haiti leveraging and integrating innovations – such as mobile phone technology- to reach additional clients; and build a fully Haitian organization by placing Haitian nationals on the Board and in key leadership positions.

Fonkoze has 200.000 active depositors and 60.000 borrowers, most are located in rural areas and are served by its national banking network.

It has played a key role in providing capital to small businesses and has fostered savings and entrepreneurship among women.

Fonkoze has developed "Boutik Santé", a social franchise initiative that expands access to basic health products and services in rural areas while serving as a source of income for its clients, who then become franchisees.

HL/ HaitiLibre