battered nation will require more than new, seismically sound structures and better hospitals.

Haitis future depends on the success of its peopleits communities, and especially its work force. Mentor is quick to recognize the value he can provide to his community. Like most employed Haitians, he contributes the bulk of his income to the livelihood of his family. My father is a technician, says Mentor, but my mother doesnt work. I also live with my sister and my cousins, and they do not work either. Now they depend on my income. But Mentor spends a portion of his remaining funds on night classes in economics. I want to create my own business, he says. Something that can create jobs for young people.

A red zone in Port-au-Prince after Hurricane Sandy After decades of victimization by corrupt politicians and elite businessmen, industry has stagnated across Haiti. Not too long ago, pyramid schemes were the most prevalent form of business there, many of them government-backed. The lack of municipal funding for education has furthermore trapped much of the population, especially the impoverished, in a cycle of disadvantage. Roughly half of all Haitians can neither read nor write, and 78% of the population lives on less than $2 USD per day. It is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Those that find work in Haiti often accept wages far lower than what they need to live. Daniella, age 24, who processes rebate claims beside Mentor, was a primary school instructor for a few years after graduating from college. I taught some children in the school near my house for one year, she recalls. But the pay was not good. Both Mentor and Daniella now process claims for 360 Incentives through a partnership with Samasource, whose technology and delivery teams break down the work into small tasks.

Tapping into the skills of Haitis poor took time. Before launching the program, 360 Incentives and Samasource first had to locate a service partner who could recruit impoverished workers and provide them with basic ICT training. The country is devoid of BPO schools and centers, and few of its inhabitants are familiar with either formal or computer-based work. Eventually, 360 Incentives and Samasource found CETEMOH, a vocational school that offers mechanical, electronic, and clerical training to youth from Port-au-Princes slums. The organizations services reflect a deep understanding of Haitis infrastructural challenges and an impassioned commitment to solving them. When the center first opened, its students struggled to grasp basic technical conceptsmany had not even finished primary school. In response, the center instituted a series of high school-level classes that attendees could take to establish a firmer academic background.

Daniella, a Samasource worker, assists another Haitian youth with a task The path to stability in Haiti may indeed be paved by global partnerships such as the one between 360 Incentives, Samasource, and CETEMOH. 360 Incentives provides both a steady steam of digital work and project-specific training; Samasource prepares the digital work for completion and delivers it through its technology platform; and CETEMOH recruits and manages the workers on-site. But fostering these triangular partnerships wont be easy. While 360 Incentives was compelled to outsource digital claims projects to Haiti precisely because of the regions need, other companies will require convincing that disadvantaged populations can be employed without any risk to quality or their bottom line. The evidence lies with people like Mentor and Daniella, who prove that the disadvantaged comprise a work force that is not only viable but competitive. While CETEMOH is only employing about 20 people currently under the rebate claims project, this small group is now handily meeting the same delivery targets that all of 360 Incentives vendors share. The relationship is win-win: workers like Mentor and Daniella make high quality contributions to 360

Incentives business model. In exchange, 360 Incentives offers a living wage, skills training, exposure to the tech industryand increased confidence. With a computer, I look like a worker, Mentor insists while noting his newly honed ICT skills. More programs like this, which familiarize Haitis youth with the business potential of technology, could even instigate a start-up culture similar to those now budding in sub-Saharan African cyber cafs. Nearly all of CETEMOHs workers have entrepreneurial ambitions. This job helps me pay for school, Daniella explains, but Im also saving money for my own project. I want to open a professional school next to my neighbors. She pauses before adding: Im very proud of my work. comments powered by Disqus