Fellows Blog

Stories from the field

Alice was born in France, where she grew up and studied for her MSc in International Business and Development. After an eight-month internship in the UK and a semester studying in Chile, she returned and settled for three years in Cambridge, UK. There, she worked for Camfed, an NGO supporting marginalised girls through education and empowering women to become leaders and change agents. Her role focused on financial and grant management, and she collaborated on a daily basis with national offices across Sub-Saharan Africa. Looking to expand her skills, Alice is extremely excited to discover new ways to address poverty alleviation through her work with Kiva.


Passionate about international development, women's rights and social business, Alice wishes to combine her education and interests to find new ways to lever impact and promote sustainable development. In her spare time, Alice is a keen cook, yogi and always eager for a new adventure!


Fellows Blog Posts by Alice Robineau

Aug 30, 2018 HT Haiti

Jeremie, the main city of the Grand’Anse region

I dedicated the last few weeks of my fellowship to traveling to rural Haiti and meeting some of Zafèn’s borrowers. Out of the ten borrowers I visited, eight of them were a part of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) which represent the informal micro-finance organisations of the country. Meeting these borrowers is a fantastic opportunity when it comes to understanding Haiti's financial system and Zafèn's crucial work within the system....

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Aug 20, 2018 HT Haiti

Mountains covered by forests are everywhere in the Dominican Republic –Here, Salto La Jalda

While I was in the Dominican Republic, I caught sight of the Haitian border and noticed that I couldn’t see as many trees when looking towards Haiti. My journey to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, confirmed this impression of 2 very different worlds on the same island. 

I knew about deforestation but was still taken aback to see it so clearly. Unlike its neighbor the Dominican Republic, which...

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Jun 26, 2018 GO Global Update

Hodrina holding her son in front of her new house.

While the Dominican Republic is famous for Punta Cana and its pristine beaches, its neighbour Haiti is mostly known for being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but both countries have much more to offer than these limiting stereotypes. In the 20th century, as Haiti’s economic and political climates became increasingly dire, Haitians started to migrate to the Dominican Republic. A series of bilateral...

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May 21, 2018 DO Dominican Republic

A colmado’s storefront in the region of Constanza.

Upon arriving in the Dominican Republic, you’re bound to encounter one recurring type of shop…a colmado.   What is a colmado? Well...it's a bit of everything.

A colmado is primarily a local convenience store. It sells staples: from rice and beans to toiletries, cigarettes and alcohol. People can call their local colmado for a delivery. Pretty convenient when you realize you need one more avocado in the middle of making...

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