Heineken to Build Hospitals, Schools in Haiti

Haiti is on the verge of receiving well-deserved, well-needed gifts. Heineken, the world’s third largest brewery is on the verge of making significant investments in the Caribbean territory.

The Globe and Mail reports;

Heineken NV, the world’s third biggest brewery, is hatching plans to build hospitals and schools in crisis-torn Haiti.

The move demonstrates the growing role of the private sector, particularly the consumer goods industry, in taking on public sector roles in poorer countries.

Food and drink makers as well as soft commodity traders have been at the forefront of efforts to train farmers and improve social infrastructure, gaining what brewer SABMiller PLC calls “licence to operate,” as well as fostering relations with governments and improving the lot of future consumers.

Heineken is not the first, neither is Haiti.

Nestlé SA, the world’s biggest food group by sales, is building and renovating 40 schools in the Ivory Coast together with the World Cocoa Foundation, an NGO. The Switzerland-based company is spending $1.5-million on the program, which will be matched by the U.S. Agency for International Development to provide accompanying projects, such as adult literacy.