Tracking down local business ties to the Haiti earthquake disaster

Aid is on its way to Haiti after the Jan. 12 earthquake.

A day after the 7.0 magnitude quake struck the impoverished Caribbean island of Haiti, as many as one-third of the nation’s citizens may be displaced and in need of aid, according to CBS News.  Tens or even hundreds of thousands may be dead.  It’s a horrific blow to a country already laboring under the worst poverty and economic stagnation in the hemisphere.

Disasters of this scale span all beats and all news desks.  If you’re looking for business and financial angles, here are a few tips:

Check with local medical centers. They may be sending supplies, drugs and trauma specialists, or participating in coordinated efforts via the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.  And they may be able to hook you up with corporate donors.

Find companies with ties to Haiti. A tough order since even Haiti’s agriculture and tourism sectors have been gutted in recent decades.   Check with regional investment banks; they may have a Caribbean or emerging nations analyst who would know of local activity.

This U.S. Census Bureau report lets you search exports state-by-state and by country, by commodity – it has potential but unfortunately Haiti doesn’t make the top 25 on any state’s list of trading partners.  However the report has potential and you might check with the Census staffers for a larger data set.

Here’s a World Trade Organization profile which shows that Haiti is mostly an importer of goods; it’s skimpy but the trade sectors may point you to industry leaders in your area.

Check with business incubators, chambers of commerce, economic development groups angel investors and venture capital firms; they may know of embryonic start-up efforts.  Some promoters, for example, are suggesting Haiti may have potential for a biofuels industry.

Remember that many of the small-business ties to Haiti may be established via projects at local business schools and colleges; don’t overlook academics in both the business and foreign studies realms – people in both disciplines may well be abreast of local economic ties.  Area schools also may be a quick source of contact with Haitian scholars.  And of course, putting out please via your electronic social networks may turn up unexpected connections.

Think beyond the immediate when pondering the specialties of your local companies; even after the need for food, water and medical supplies dissipates, Haitian people will need clothing, furnishings, toiletries, appliances, school supplies, rebuilding materials – pretty much everything we often take for granted in everyday life.  Check with merchants, manufacturers, trucking firms, distributors and cargo shippers about any embryonic plans to help.

Questions to ask local corporate leaders: What aid will emanate from your region?  Are companies lending aircraft, providing products from bedding to body bags to food and water, or supplying needed cash?  Check with airlines, charter operators and general aviation terminals at local airports as a possible point of contact with corporate donors.

How will this sap aid from local charities, shelters, animal rescue and other organizations currently dealing with the cold snap across the southern U.S.?

Your Federal Reserve district economists may help. They may be aware of trade and other economic initiatives that involve your region and Haiti.

Tourism: Haiti has been waning as a destination but it shares an island with the Dominican Republic, a popular resort spot and destination for beach weddings.  Check with local travel agents, bridal planners, charter firms and others about cancellations, etc. – especially as regards the weddings, you may find a plethora of human interest biz stories.

Personal finance. The FBI already has issued an alert warning citizens to beware of charity scams.  Other resources include, of course, Charity Navigator, Guidestar and the American Philanthropy Institute, all linked in this previous post.

Money sent home by Haitian immigrants accounts for nearly a quarter of the country’s GDP, to give you an idea of that nation’s difficulties.  With Western Union offices being shown in shambles on cable television, how will people in your region get money to their suffering loved ones?  Check with area Western Union and other wire transfer services on what activities they are seeing; it may be a good place to connect with worried relatives, as well.

Rebuilding: Talk with road contractors, demolition experts, builders, etc. – even if they aren’t in a position to bid on recovery efforts in Haiti, they may point you to likely prospects.    Here’s one, for example, that mentions the water industry’s attempt to help Haiti recover from hurricane damage.  If companies in your region match that sort of expertise you might give them a call.

Other business and economy links and resources:

CIA World Factbook: Haiti backgrounder including economic analysis.

United Nationals Development Programme: Type “Haiti” in the search engine to retrieve articles which are not particularly helpful in themselves but the companies and investors mentioned in the articles might be good leads to follow.

NYT piece: Recent investment interest in Haiti by U.S. icons like American Eagle Outfitters and Gap.