Hardware Manufacturing

Haiti's assembly sector employs approximately 20,000 skilled and semi-skilled laborers, making it the largest non-agricultural private sector source of employment within Haiti. In the electronic assembly domain, a few companies manufacture conductors. One of these companies, MANUTECH ASSEMBLY, INC, a U.S. manufacturer of transformers and other wound components has been active in Haiti since 1981 and presently employs well over 500 people in two Haitian plants. Apart from conductors and small wound magnetic parts, there are no other electronic manufacturers. In the 80s, there used to be chip manufacturers, but they all closed due to hard economic times.

 

Software Development

Even though the Haitian economy has suffered from very hard blows in the past 10 years, companies have still managed to venture into the technological age. There isn't a major software development industry in Haiti, but there are a few individuals who offer their services to companies in order to accommodate their IT needs. One example is PROVALSA, a gross food products distributor located in Port-au-Prince. The company is one of the oldest of its kind and has always relied on pen and paper in order to upkeep its books. Four years ago, the company bought a laptop and experimented with a few existing programs for their inventory management. Not able to meet their specific needs, the software had to be personalized. PROVALSA decided to contact a local programmer who designed a new program for the company and offers them his services for updating and troubleshooting. Freelance programmers are in demand in Haiti for businesses such as PROVALSA, which I think will lead to the formation of organized groups and even companies that will offer these services.