The University Quisqueya in Port-au-Prince was the venue for the official launch of the project developed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) called Support for Entrepreneurial Innovation and University Startups (AIESU) on October 9, 2026. This project aims to support entrepreneurial initiatives arising from academia by providing young innovators with tailored support for the development and expansion of their projects.<\/strong><\/i><\/p>

Many important figures attended this launch ceremony, including James Monazard, the Minister of Commerce and Industry; Sandy François, the Minister for Women's Affairs; Roberto Augustin, the representative of the MCI Director General; Jacky Lumarque, the rector of the University Quisqueya; as well as public administration and university leaders.<\/p>

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Through this project, the MCI intends to support entrepreneurial initiatives from the academic sector by offering young innovators tailored support for the development and expansion of their projects. This initiative aims to stimulate entrepreneurship, encourage the emergence of new businesses, and contribute to job creation as well as reducing unemployment in Haiti.<\/p>

The launch of the AIESU reflects the Ministry's commitment to making innovation and entrepreneurship drivers of economic development. Investing in the potential of young academics reinforces the value of their ideas, strengthens national production capacity, and opens new perspectives for the future of the country.<\/p>

As part of its mission and responsibilities, the MCI continues its efforts to create a conducive environment for entrepreneurship, particularly through the implementation of structured programs designed to transform innovative ideas into viable, wealth and job-creating projects.<\/p>

One of the first speakers at this launch ceremony was the rector of the University Quisqueya, Jacky Lumarque, who defined the AIESU as a project aimed at transforming university-originating initiatives into viable, innovative, and job-creating businesses. This project, he stated, addresses the many difficulties typically encountered by young Haitian entrepreneurs, such as the lack of support, financing, and the absence of links between universities and the productive sector.<\/p>

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Rector of the University Quisqueya, Jacky Lumarque speaking<\/i><\/p>

At the national level, the AIESU project plans to develop a network of eight university incubators across four departments with the goal of supporting 80 startups. The University Quisqueya is one of the eight selected university incubators through its incubator called QE3 and has been designated as the pilot university to host the program's first cohort.<\/p>

According to Professor Jacky Lumarque, the idea of a young person is not lacking in value, but what it lacks is support, funding, and a connection to the production world. And that is precisely what the MCI's project aims to reinforce with a national natural network of eight incubators and the ambition to support 80 startups.<\/p>

“This experience has led us to a conviction: a university should no longer just train graduates. It should also give birth to businesses and jobs. This vision can be encapsulated in one idea: connecting the university, the state, and the productive sector. When these three forces move forward together, the student's idea ceases to be a mere dream and instead becomes a real business that creates jobs,” Professor Lumarque asserted.<\/p>

On his part, the Coordinator of the AIESU project, Freud Miguel Renaty, pointed out that through the AIESU project, the MCI has made a choice: the university should not only be a place of training but also a space where innovations, businesses, and new opportunities can be born.<\/p>

“One fundamental question remains,” Mr. Renaty estimates: “How can we further transform university ideas into viable projects, businesses, and ultimately jobs? It is precisely this issue that the AIESU project aims to address,” he said while explaining the project’s framework.<\/p>

“The framework gradually provides for: the support of 80 startups through 8 university incubators distributed across four departments of the country. The University Quisqueya is thus the first site of operational implementation of this initiative... Therefore, our ambition is not just to prepare young people to seek employment. It is also to help them acquire the means to create value, develop businesses, and participate in the creation of tomorrow's jobs.”<\/p>

Roberto Augustin, who acted as spokesperson for the MCI Director General in his absence, informed aspiring entrepreneurs that: “A good idea, innovative as it may be, is not always sufficient to create a sustainable business. Young entrepreneurs need a favorable environment, appropriate support, technical skills, and mechanisms that allow them to turn their ambitions into tangible outcomes.”<\/p>

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“It is precisely in this perspective that the AIESU project is situated. Through this initiative, the MCI aims to contribute to bridging the gap between the academic world and the entrepreneurial sector so that the knowledge and innovations developed in our universities can further participate in the country’s economic development,” Mr. Augustin emphasized before giving the floor to Minister of Commerce James Monazard.<\/p>

The bulk of the latter's speech was primarily aimed at the young entrepreneurs in attendance who, according to him, should view the problems of the country as a blueprint. “Dear young innovators, the problems of our country are your best blueprints. Every issue confronting our industries, commerce, health, agriculture, transport, finance, banks, education, and infrastructure is a business waiting to be created.”<\/p>

“The innovation we expect from this incubator is not a superficial innovation; rather, it is an innovation that produces, substitutes imports, solves problems, creates jobs, and strengthens our capacity to sell to the world what we know how to do,” stated the MCI holder, who announced that by the end of the year, as part of the AIESU project, the MCI would inaugurate its second incubator at the UPSAC University of Les Cayes in the South.<\/p>

Still addressing the young entrepreneurs, Mr. Monazard remarked that the significant challenge faced by young entrepreneurs is financing. “It is extremely difficult for a young entrepreneur to obtain credit. The guarantees required are out of reach, interest rates are high, venture capital is nearly non-existent, and university research, which takes time to generate income, is the hardest to finance. Many excellent ideas remain on the shelves due to a few thousand gourdes at the right moment.”<\/p>

Continuing along this line, the minister acknowledged that the state cannot do everything alone. “But the state has the duty to pave the way, create conditions, and gather stakeholders. This is the essence of the MCI's commitment, which through its holder, makes a solemn call to its partners in the diplomatic corps, banks, financial sectors, and businesses. “Invest in this youth, sponsor a startup, open your markets to their products, for every contract offered to a young business can sometimes be worth more than a subsidy.”<\/p>

Minister James Monazard took the opportunity to encourage the youth to be more ambitious while also being rigorous and bold.<\/p>

“A good idea is not enough; you need a customer, a business model, a team, and discipline. Be integral entrepreneurs; pay your taxes, respect your clients, your employees, use new technologies, particularly AI with intelligence and ethics, in the service of people, companies, international organizations, and NGOs. And above all, cultivate collaboration. Share, partner, form teams that mix disciplines (the engineer with the manager, the computer scientist with the agronomist, the designer with the lawyer), as our national motto has said for over two centuries: Unity is Strength,” concluded the minister.<\/p>

Cyprien L. Gary<\/p>