Turning Private Sector Partnerships into Economic Ecosystems
- Melanie Yates
- Oct 22, 2025
- 2 min read
By the time GECA launched its foundation BRACING NEIGHBORS, one thing was clear: social impact and business growth were not competing ideas — they were two sides of the same coin.
Private Sector Partnerships Driving Economic Development
GECA’s collaboration with Digital Kap, a solar energy company, illustrates how the firm transforms corporate clients into community catalysts.
GECA knew that most households in southern Haiti had no electricity; it didn’t stop at analysis- it built a solution.
Digital Kap was already a client under GECA’s investment program. GECA helped restructure their debt by tying repayment to a social initiative: training local technicians to install solar panels.
Joanne recalled saying, “Let’s create your clientele. You do the training; we’ll help build the network.”
Through this partnership:
GECA co-invested in the first stock of solar energy material, established a community group association with students and formalized this relationship making GECA students shareholders and partners in this venture business thus creating market opportunities for youth in the community.
105 students were trained as solar consultants and installers.
51 immediately found work installing off-grid systems at a local hospital.
By bypassing middle distributors who typically add 40–45% markups, the model lowered costs, increased adoption, and created an entire new market of skilled workers.
“Instead of one distributor adding 40% on top, you have trained youth who sell and install directly,” Joanne said. “The panels become affordable, people earn income, and the companies repay their loans. Everyone wins.”
Beyond CSR — Building Economic Ecosystems
GECA’s approach has now evolved into something far greater than traditional CSR.
Their private sector clients aren’t just funding social projects — they’re co-creating new industries, new jobs, and new entrepreneurs.
“We approach this as corporate social responsibility,” Joanne said. “But at the same time, we’re bridging the gap — bringing informal people into the formal economy.”
This is how finance becomes a tool for nation-building — where every investment creates a ripple of opportunity.
“We don’t talk about CSR anymore,” Joanne said. “We talk about economic ecosystems. Because when you train, empower, and give people access, they create the impact themselves.”
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