{"id":156348,"date":"2021-02-17T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=156348"},"modified":"2021-02-17T06:17:19","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T11:17:19","slug":"ictp-142-banj-changing-the-story-of-haitis-tech-start-up-space-with-marc-alain-boucicault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2021\/02\/ictp-142-banj-changing-the-story-of-haitis-tech-start-up-space-with-marc-alain-boucicault\/","title":{"rendered":"ICTP 142:  Banj, changing the story of Haiti\u2019s tech start-up space, with Marc Alain Boucicault"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Banj, a co-working space and Google powered accelerator<\/em> <em>in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is the second tech-based business we are focussing on in our series on technology-based social enterprises. We chat with company Founder, Marc Alain Boucicault, about: what drove him to set up Banj; &nbsp;the social impact Banj is having in Haiti; the big dreams he has for Banj and for Haiti; and the advice you would give tech start-ups that also want to be social impact-focussed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/987256312&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\" title=\"ICT Pulse Podcast\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICT Pulse Podcast<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\/ictp-142-banj-changing-the\" title=\"ICTP 142: Banj, changing the story of Haiti\u2019s tech start-up space, with Marc Alain Boucicault\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICTP 142: Banj, changing the story of Haiti\u2019s tech start-up space, with Marc Alain Boucicault<\/a><\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This episode is also available in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast\/id1373550291\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Apple iTunes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/playmusic.app.goo.gl\/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&amp;isi=691797987&amp;ius=googleplaymusic&amp;apn=com.google.android.music&amp;link=https:\/\/play.google.com\/music\/m\/Icau5acn2xiyl5yjuh7orl2mt54?t%3DICT_Pulse_Podcast%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google Play Music<\/a> and on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast?refid=stpr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stitcher<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Generally, social impact-focussed enterprises are not common in the Caribbean region, and more so among tech businesses. The region\u2019s start-up space can be challenging at best, where options for incubation, technical expertise and financial support, may be virtually non-existent in many countries. However, social impact-focussed operations tend to be plagued with one of two problems. First, if they operate as non-profits, they continually have to be securing the support of donors and sponsors, who inherently, can dictate the priorities, work and\/or direction of the organisation. Alternatively, if they operate as for-profit businesses, the social impact imperative may limit, or otherwise impede, the profit-making potential, and overall viability, of such operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the second episode in our series on technology-based social enterprises, and we are examining <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.banjht.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Banj<\/a><\/strong>, a co-working space and Google powered accelerator in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which has become an important vehicle in the country\u2019s tech start-up ecosystem. Banj was established in 2017, and seemed to have filled a need among existing and prospective tech entrepreneurs in a country where infrastructure and the penetration of computing devices, tends to be limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the three years it has been in existence, Banj has made some incredible strides, but it also experienced a major challenge in 2019, which threatened its ability to continue operating. However, having come out on the other side of that crisis, COVID-19 emerged, which for a business built on bring people together \u2013 in a coworking space \u2013 was another challenge for Banj Founder, Marc Alain Boucicault, and our guest for this episode, to overcome,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introducing our guest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"156350\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2021\/02\/ictp-142-banj-changing-the-story-of-haitis-tech-start-up-space-with-marc-alain-boucicault\/marc-alain-boucicault-image-mab\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Marc-Alain-Boucicault-image-MAB.jpg?fit=960%2C959&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"960,959\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Marc-Alain-Boucicault-image-MAB\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Marc Alain Boucicault&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Marc-Alain-Boucicault-image-MAB.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Marc-Alain-Boucicault-image-MAB.jpg?fit=960%2C959&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Marc-Alain-Boucicault-image-MAB.jpg?resize=350%2C350&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-156350\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Marc-Alain-Boucicault-image-MAB.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Marc-Alain-Boucicault-image-MAB.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Marc-Alain-Boucicault-image-MAB.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Marc-Alain-Boucicault-image-MAB.jpg?resize=768%2C767&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Marc-Alain-Boucicault-image-MAB.jpg?resize=440%2C440&amp;ssl=1 440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mab.ht\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Marc Alain Boucicault<\/a> <\/strong>is an ecosystem builder. Born, raised and college educated in Port-au-Prince, he worked for seven years in international development in Washington, DC and in Port-au-Prince at the World Bank and with the Inter-American Development Bank before he decided to create his own businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to Banj, Marc Alain is also the co-Founder of Groupe ECHO Haiti, a grassroots organisation that validates and supports the potential of young adults in Haiti, through which he created and led several innovative projects including ELAN Haiti, the biggest international platform that brings together a community of students, young leaders and entrepreneurs from across Haiti, its Diaspora and the world, and is focused on taking joint actions in Haiti. He is also responsible for partnerships at the Haiti Tech Summit, the biggest international tech event in the history of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marc Alain is a Fulbright scholar, and holds a Master of Arts degree in Financial Economic Policy from American University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Applied Quantitative Economics from CTPEA (Centre de Techniques de Planification et d&#8217;Economie Appliqu\u00e9e), in Haiti. He believes that entrepreneurship is the only way out of poverty for Haiti and, through his various initiatives, he is offering to all those who are willing to go in that direction, a seat at the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Insights into our conversation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As a builder of ecosystems and partnerships, Marc Alain is an intelligent and charismatic speaker, who firmly believes in what Banj \u2013 and by extension, what Haiti \u2013 can accomplish. Also, Marc Alain is big on stories: the narrative you tell yourself, and that which you share with others, as they can influence how one\u2019s entrepreneurial journey unfolds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In editing the episode, I was continually reminded of the importance of messaging:  of the story you are creating \u2013 which not only applies to business, but also to life. And although Banj is just three years old, it, and Marc Alain, already have a compelling story to tell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are some of the questions posed during my conversation with Marc Alain:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>Can you give us more details about the services Banj offers and the number of clients it is currently serving?<\/li><li>What are some of the challenges Haitian tech entrepreneurs are experiencing generally?<\/li><li>Tell us a bit of your story, and what drove you to set up Banj?<\/li><li>Do you think of Banj as a social enterprise? What is the social good or social impact Banj is pursuing?<\/li><li>How open was the Haitian business environment to a venture such as Banj?<\/li><li>What are some of the KPI (Key Performance Indicators) or markers of success that are important to Banj?<\/li><li>How would you describe yourself as a manager, as the leader of your organisation? What do you consider your greatest strength?<\/li><li>What has been the biggest lesson you have had to learn in running your own business?<\/li><li>What is the best piece of advice you would give a tech start-up that is wants to be a social enterprise?<\/li><li>Where would you like to see Banj in the next three to five years?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>We would love to hear from you!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICTPulse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ict-pulse-consulting-limited\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>LinkedIn<\/strong><\/a> pages, or via Twitter, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ICTPulse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>@ICTPulse<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Select links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Marc Alain Boucicault &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mab.ht\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Website<\/a>&nbsp; | &nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/marcalainb\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a>&nbsp; | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/marcalainb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Twitter<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.banjht.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Banj<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.groupechohaiti.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Groupe ECHO Haiti<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/haititechsummit.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Haiti Tech Summit<\/a><\/li><li>Forbes article, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/devinthorpe\/2018\/05\/25\/young-entrepreneur-hopes-to-tell-a-new-story-in-haiti\/?sh=4be2833529f1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Young Entrepreneur Hopes To Tell A New Story In Haiti<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Image credits:  MA Boucicault; Banj<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Music credit:  Ray Holman<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Banj, a co-working space and Google powered accelerator in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is the second tech-based business we are focussing on in our series on technology-based social enterprises. We chat with company Founder, Marc Alain Boucicault, about: what drove him to set up Banj;  the social impact Banj is having in Haiti; the big dreams he has for Banj and for Haiti; and the advice you would give tech start-ups that also want to be social impact-focussed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":156351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[355],"tags":[71,205,204,357,470],"class_list":["post-156348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-businesses","tag-entrepreneurship-2","tag-innovation-2","tag-interviews","tag-social-entrepreneurship","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Banj-Marc-Alain-Boucicault.jpg?fit=1024%2C691&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-EFK","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156348"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156364,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156348\/revisions\/156364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}