Above: Jacmel’s Cap Lamandou Waterview Hotel

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Cap Lamandou Hotel in Jacmel, Haiti is among several recipients of $2.59 million in new funding announced by the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

Jacmel’s Cap Lamandou has obtained a $349,000 loan for physical renovations and other updates for the hotel, which is owned by SIMACT Tourism, a US company held by Haitian and diaspora investors.

The hotel is looking to join the Comfort Inn brand of Choice Hotels International.

“Jacmel is a vibrant town, and Haiti’s tourism sector is ready to grow here,” Clinton Bush Haiti Fund CEO Gary Edson said in a statement. “Smart investments in the hotel industry translate into successes for local restaurateurs, artisans, small enterprises and the Haitian economy as a whole.”

Other funding included a $463,000 grant to Regis College to educate faculty at six Haitian nursing schools, a new $1 million loan for SFIHDES, a Haitian development bank, and $525,000 for Haitian commercial construction firm CYLF Quincallerie.

Former United Senator Bill Frist, a surgeon and member of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund’s board, said Haiti is “in dire need of indigenous health workers who are committed to their local communities.”

“Long-term health and economic results can only be achieved by partnering with Haitians to build the health training and service programmes that they own, operate in and use,” Frist said.

Funding for the construction firm includes a $375,000 loan and a $150,000 for grant for the company, which is based in Port-au-Prince.

It will support training for use of equipment and could create at least 25 new jobs.