By Dan O'Neill | Founder
Starting their own business, for many people I know, is a lifelong dream and a satisfying professional choice. Here in the U.S., plentiful resources — from community colleges to internet cafes — help aspiring entrepreneurs launch their ideas. Not so in Haiti, where starting a business may be the only way to survive, and help is scarce. That's why entrepreneurs there must be so tenacious and motivated.
Take Bilha. She started working in her mother's store when she was just a child. Later, as a secretarial student, she sold supplies to her classmates. Soon she began selling clothing, shoes and makeup door-to-door. Then, after the devastating 2010 earthquake, she rented a storefront for her goods and added a beauty salon. Now, with your help, she's repairing and expanding her salon and opening a cosmetology school.
You have helped Bilha take those critical next steps to build a business that can sustain her for years to come. Your donation supports a Mercy Corps program that's helping this smart, hardworking Haitian woman write a business plan, get a loan and learn the basics of finance, human resources and marketing — the skills she needs to succeed.
This new knowledge, coupled with the vision and determination she has had all along, is giving Bilha a big boost. "In Haiti," she says, "a female entrepreneur has to have a lot of brains to get ahead, because we are marginalized, we are underestimated. It's up to you to prove yourself." She should know — there's no doubt Bilha is following her own advice. I hope you feel as proud as I do to be her partner.
Get to know Bilha in a short two-minute video
Thank you for helping self-starting businesswomen like Bilha get back to work after life's most shattering setbacks. With their unstoppable perseverance and your loyal support, the shops and schools and salons of Haiti are once again opening for business.
Sincerely, 
Dan O'Neill
Founder
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By Carlene Deits | Project Leader
By Carlene Deits | Project Leader
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