Territorial Embeddedness and Entrepreneurship: Towards an Inclusive Development Model through a National Incubation Center in Haiti (Revue Leadership Aménagement Tourisme et Développement Durable)

Summary

• The article examines how an incubation system designed as territorial policy can reduce departmental disparities and support inclusive development in Haiti.p.1
• The proposed design links a National Incubation Center (CNI) to Departmental Incubation Committees (CDI) acting as coordination, learning and contracting infrastructure.p.4
• Incubation is translated into five operational functions, including strategic orientation, intermediation and accountability.p.7
• Multi-level contracting between the CNI and each CDI sets objectives, resources, reporting duties and audit mechanisms.p.12
• Financial engineering proposes micro seed grants, partial guarantees and patient funds, calibrated to technical, market and institutional risk.p.13
• A phased deployment is recommended, starting with a pilot in a limited number of contrasting departments.p.16

Key insights

1. The performance of the CNI and CDI depends on coordinating actors, valorizing territorial resources and aligning institutions.p.1
2. Policies that ignore territorial heterogeneity struggle to produce effects, which favours a place-based perspective.p.4
3. The diagnostic is structured around infrastructure, local markets, human capital and territorial governance.p.5
4. Priorities can be organized as a portfolio of subsistence, local growth and innovation or export projects.p.10
5. Territorial profiles range from relatively structured departments to fragile ones needing progressive, micro value-chain incubation.p.11
6. Monitoring should track survival, growth, job quality and inclusion rather than only counting businesses created.p.13
7. Anticipated risks include political instability, institutional capture, dependence on external funding and security vulnerabilities.p.16