Beyond CSR: How GECA is Redefining Sustainable Finance in Emerging Economies

When most people think of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), they imagine philanthropy — a donation, a social campaign, or an environmental project tacked onto a company’s annual report.

But for GECA (Gestion d’Étude, Comptabilité et Audit), CSR isn’t an obligation. It’s a business model.

Founded by Joanne Alexis Bounouni, GECA began as a traditional finance and audit firm serving Haiti’s private sector. Over time, Joanne saw a deeper opportunity: the same systems used to serve corporations could — and should — be used to empower communities.

“I can’t open a multitude of new businesses myself,” Joanne told us. “But I can bring people who aren’t formally in business into a different level — and offer a new category of service.”

Reinvesting Marketing into Empowerment

After the 2010 earthquake, many of GECA’s women-led clients were struggling to rebuild. Instead of spending on marketing, conferences, and brand promotion, GECA redirected those funds toward training and advisory programs for women entrepreneurs.

“We said, instead of investing in marketing, let’s invest in women who already have businesses — women who were impacted by the earthquake and just need to restart,” Joanne explained.

Working with partners like Solengy and AKAP, DiGITAL KAP, MEDA and ACAPE, GECA launched performance-based programs funded by USAID, while investing its own capital.

At first, 50 women participated. Then 100. Then 300. That’s when Joanne realized something bigger was happening.

“We decided to create a foundation — to build this new clientele and bring them into the mainstream so we could offer a different line of services.”

It wasn’t charity. It was strategy.

Through this evolution, GECA laid the groundwork for a new approach to finance — one that sees inclusion as a growth strategy, not a cost.

This first phase would become the foundation for what GECA does best today: designing financial models that empower women, strengthen communities, and create entirely new markets.

Next in the series:

Part 2 — Beyond CSR: Turning Private Sector Partnerships into Economic Ecosystems

How GECA’s collaborations with companies like Digital Kap are reshaping access to clean energy, training, and local employment across Haiti.

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