Rebuilding Haiti is a monumental task that will demand billions of dollars and many years to complete. But what the country needs most urgently is more jobs. One way to achieve this goal is to leverage its comparative advantages for trade and manufacturing to attract more employment-generating private sector investments.

An example of this approach is a $250 million project for a new industrial park to be built this year as a result of a partnership between Haiti, the United States and the Inter-American Development Bank.

The industrial park, which will be located between the northern cities of Cap Haïtien and Fort Liberté, will house factories producing consumer goods principally for the United States, which has granted Haiti highly favorable trade preferences. Eventually, up to 65,000 people could be employed at the facility, which will be owned by Haiti.

Under the plan, the IDB, which financed the feasibility, location and environmental impact studies, will provide grants to build infrastructure inside the park. The United States will finance a power plant, access roads, port improvements and housing for workers.

The IDB has also helped Haiti find potential tenants for the park. The first one signed up was South Korean textile giant Sae-A. The company plans to hire up to 20,000 workers, becoming the largest private sector employer in Haiti. Manufacturers from several other countries are currently in talks with Haitian authorities.

But in order to become more attractive for local and foreign investors, Haiti must also improve its business climate. To that end, last year the IDB sponsored a private sector consultation where government officials and business people discussed what was needed in specific sectors. One of the outcomes of those discussions was a program to streamline the registration of new businesses and the issuance of construction permits.

Establishing a new company in Haiti can take around 180 days. By eliminating red tape, standardizing documents and employing cutting-edge technologies, this process could be shortened to just 10 days. Builders sometimes have to toil for more than two years to get construction permits. By simplifying the bureaucratic procedure the delay could be cut to 60 days. These reforms could have an additional benefit: boosting Haiti up in international rankings for doing business.

The IDB is also looking for ways to assist Haiti’s talented artisans in their efforts to enter global markets. One example is a project to establish an electronic commerce platform where handcrafters will be able to create online catalogs to promote their work, while an escrow organization handles payments and shipments. From large-scale ventures to individual entrepreneurs, the IDB is helping Haiti turn trade into jobs.