The PISA Story: a Catalytic Partnership Designed for Lasting Impact and Growth

In 2019, the well establish private Haitian company Produits des Iles S.A. (PISA) approached Papyrus for assistance in establishing a public-private partnership (PPP) with USAID, in which the donor would invest up to 50% of the funds needed for a cacao and vanilla project to expand faster and increase economic activity in the region.

USAID was intrigued by the project because PISA is a well-functioning and successful enterprise that manages several food-related businesses in a difficult and ever-changing political and natural environment. This donor was convinced that PISA had the technical capacity to increase cacao yields in the fields of nearly 900 farmers and to introduce 100 hectares of vanilla plantations to the cacao plots of model farmers in northern Haiti.

While PISA's internal financial controls were sufficient for its day-to-day operations, they were not deemed adequate to receive direct and restricted funding from USAID. A partnership was established as a result, whereby Papyrus would manage the project as the lead firm, receiving and managing USAID funds, and reporting on all activities, impact and results. PISA would manage technical and commercial activities and contribute financial resources to match USAID’s contribution. Over the course of the project, Papyrus worked closely with PISA’s management team, transferring skills and building its capacity to be eligible for direct funding. The project was a great success, with record quantities of high-quality Fair-Trade cacao and vanilla being exported.

While the cacao/vanilla project was still underway, PISA applied for another PPP with USAID, this time as lead firm for a coffee project to revitalize the Thiotte coffee sector to become profitable and environmentally sustainable, and to contribute to the resilience, stability, and inclusive growth of participating farmers in this highland area of Haiti.

As a result of its enhanced project management capabilities, and with the support of Papyrus on proposal writing and budgeting, PISA was directly awarded a PPP grant which it is now managing directly with USAID, with Papyrus in a support role. What is unique about this PPP is that although PISA is highly skilled in running and operating its business, it was not yet set up to manage some donor requirements like monitoring and evaluation, data collection, and reporting. Building on the trust of the cacao and vanilla project partnership, PISA called on Papyrus again, but this time as a service provider to guide their team and transfer the skills over the first few years of implementation. This experience has increased PISA's ability to work within donor requirements, enabling it to manage more project functions internally over time, while providing the donor with an additional private sector partner that meets their project management standards. Papyrus has also improved its skills in working with the private sector to develop these key high-value export markets in Haiti.

This is an example of sustainable impact. Papyrus was able to find a way to match a receptive donor with a competent and committed potential partner, under difficult circumstances and over an extended period, to create a valuable long-term resource for both parties and the country.

Papyrus is proud of PISA's new ability to manage donor projects as a direct recipient and of our capacity to unlock catalytic partnerships like this. We are on the lookout to identify and develop more partnerships of this kind!

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