Since his trip to Haiti in 2018, Dr. Justin Deng and his small team, the Mango Group, have partnered with Partners Worldwide (PW), a nonprofit that does work around the world, promoting small business development through training, mentoring, advocacy, and access to capital. In 2019, the Mango Group organized a business training for micro-entrepreneurs based in Carrefour, Haiti. In 2020, the Mango Group helped raise money and structure a Savings and Loan Program run by PW’s Haitian leaders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This program provided emergency low-interest loans to entrepreneurs whose businesses provided necessities for the pandemic. The Mango Group continues to receive quarterly reports on the loans generated and loan repayment rates through this program. In response to the earthquake that hit Haiti in August 2021, the Mango Group put together a business registry for Haitian businesses that provide the earthquake relief-related supplies listed by the Haitian government. The Mango Group is working with Partners Worldwide to encourage non-profits providing these earthquake relief services to purchase items from local Haitian vendors instead of international suppliers. Making these purchases from local Haitian vendors pours money into the local economy and allows these businesses to grow, hire, and spend.
Thursday, November 18
Free Period (12:45-1:45)
319 Cooper Street, Room 110