Officially launched this Tuesday, April 27, at the Oasis Hotel, the fifteenth edition of the International Finance Summit, organized by Group Croissance, was marked on its first day by a series of speeches and reflections on the financial autonomy of municipalities through municipal bonds, which would give local governments the opportunity to finance their own development. Although this financing mechanism does not yet exist in Haiti, the reflections initiated by Group Croissance and other experts in the field of decentralization regarding its creation, implementation, and use are already well advanced.

It was the representative of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Haiti, Corinne Cathala, who delivered the opening remarks at this fifteenth edition of the summit dedicated to finance. She emphasized the relevance of the theme—“Financing Local Development by Municipalities: The Potential of Municipal Bonds”—in the country’s current context. “How can municipalities be equipped with the means to act effectively and transform their territories?” By raising this question, the IDB representative underscored that municipal bonds, as an innovative instrument, could enable cities to meet challenges related to infrastructure, access to basic services, and more.