Q&A with Dana François: How entrepreneurs and investors can strive for impact in Haiti

At the most recent SOCAP gathering, Laurie Lane-Zucker, the CEO of Impact Entrepreneur, sat down with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Dana François. As the program officer for Family Economic Security in Haiti, François works closely with partners and community members, as well as fellow funders, to advance communities’ sustainable economic development and food systems priorities. SOCAP’s annual conference on impact investing draws thousands of entrepreneurs, philanthropists and impact investors – a perfect place to connect capital with global actors making social impact.

In her Q&A, François reflected on Haiti’s struggles and encouraged entrepreneurs, investors and philanthropists to follow the lead of WKKF and its partners in focusing on deep impact with the people and communities closest to the problems and driving innovative solutions. WKKF’s partnerships with local experts, fellow funders and institutions in 11 communities in Haiti have laid a solid foundation on which to build much-needed engagement, including initiatives like the Haiti Food Systems Alliance.

Nutrition education is a really great thing, but it takes time and money in a way that other solutions, like changing the timing of recess, might be easier to achieve. Implementing a whole nutrition education program is more resource intensive for schools. It is something we recommend, but we know that school budgets are tight, so we are encouraging schools to start first with lower-cost interventions such as the timing of lunch and eliminating punitive practices.