Project description / objective
More competitive, resilient, and inclusive market systems that sustainably increase economic opportunities through:
- increasing business sales and jobs for Hondurans, including vulnerable populations
- reducing migration incentives while building the foundation for broad-based, long-term economic growth.
Market systems focus
Value-added agriculture
Expand the market share of Honduran agricultural and food products through value-addition and help farmers transition to more sustainable production models that generate better incomes and more jobs on-farm and off-farm, focusing on coffee, dairy, diverse fruits, and vegetables.
Tourism and creative industries
Increase tourism and visitor consumption to generate formal and higher-paying jobs primarily for women working in Honduras' hospitality, transport, and other tourism-related industries. Focusing on the sun, beach, nature, adventure, and cultural and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) tourism segments.
Entrepreneurship
Build an ecosystem of services that enable micro, small, and growing enterprises to generate better jobs and create quality goods and services that benefit all sectors of Honduran society, focusing on manufacturing, construction, agriculture, commerce, and tourism.
Digital economy
Accompany Honduran businesses and market actors in transforming their operations by adopting and integrating digital technologies into their core business models, focusing on digitalising commerce, government, and support services for the agriculture and tourism sectors.
Financial services
Deepen financial access to better serve underbanked populations with access to capital needed to grow and to manage risk better to recover from shocks and disruptions, focusing on access to finance for agriculture, renewable energy, commerce, and women-led MSMEs.
Business enabling environment
Enable the formalisation of Honduran enterprises and simplify the burdensome regulation and administrative processes that reduce enterprise productivity and limit innovation. Focusing on municipal tax and fiscal policies, registries, permitting and licensing, sanitary and phytosanitary standards, and customs processes.
Labour intermediation
Support workers to obtain decent work while assisting enterprises in developing a more productive workforce to compete and grow, with a focus on temporary work abroad and digital jobs for remote work.
Programme interventions
Value-added agriculture
TMS partners with Honduran agroindustry to:
- diversify and add value to agricultural and food products
- establish commercial relationships in value-added markets
- expand distribution channels for food products
- include small producers in firm supply chains
- help farmers transition to more sustainable production systems
Tourism and creative industries
TMS partners with Honduran tourism organisations to:
- enhance reputation to motivate Honduran visitors
- develop tourism attractions for niche markets
- provide effective governance to manage tourism destinations
- increase destination connectivity with principal markets
- professionalise services related to quality tourism experiences
Entrepreneurship
TMS partners with Honduran business service providers to:
- develop sustainable services that meet the needs of enterprises
- integrate and coordinate services as part of the ecosystem
- reinforce an entrepreneurial culture and norms in society
Digital economy
TMS partners with technology companies and regulators to:
- support MSMEs to sell products and services online (e-commerce)
- expand the use of digital finance to support financial inclusion
- reform digital regulation to enable digital financial services
Financial services
TMS partners with local financial intermediaries to:
- develop new services to reach underserved markets
- establish alliances with transaction assistance providers
- strengthen investment promotion to attract investors
- develop community-based banks for financial inclusion
Business enabling environment
TMS partners with the Honduran government and policy actors to:
- facilitate more inclusive stakeholder engagement in the policy process
- generate evidence-based formulation and assessment of policies
- simplify government administrative processes
Labour intermediation
TMS partners with employment agencies and vocational institutes to:
- strengthen labour intermediation services
- develop competency-based skills training offers
Notable results (systemic change, poverty impact)
Value-added agriculture
12 agro-enterprises and 21 intermediaries developed new product/market offers, increasing sales by $47,322,998 and providing 1,412 individuals with new or better jobs off-farm.
These firms invested in services to farmers, increasing sales by $8,154,555 and providing 6,535 individual farmers and wage workers with new or better jobs on-farm, as of 2022.
Tourism
Visitors increased as a result of economic reactivation (post-COVID19) initiatives, improved web reputation (such as Condé Nast Traveller's Top 22 in 2022) and new attractions.
This lead to an increased tourism of $38,688,692 and provided 5,677 individuals with new or better jobs in hospitality and tourism-related sectors, as of 2021.
Entrepreneurship
Nine business service providers established or expanded 3,181 MSMEs in Honduras.
The pilot cohort of 233 MSMEs increased sales by $11,965,655 and provided 883 entrepreneurs and employees with new or better jobs.
A mid-point survey of later cohorts indicated these services were providing 1,078 individuals with new jobs.
Digital economy
A tech company supported 3,807 Honduran MSMEs to adopt e-commerce and digital practices. This resulted in $7,020,323 of e-commerce sales ($1,385,403 through digital payments) and provided 1,289 individuals with new or better jobs.
Financial services
46 lenders (13 banks, 14 coops, 15 firms, and 4 NGOs) disbursed $49,912,775 in credits to MSMEs with financial transaction assistance.
A pandemic recovery programme via rural banks financed 3,229 rural entrepreneurs to increase sales by $7,606,773 and provided 3,066 with increased incomes.
Business enabling environment
10 municipalities simplified their construction permit and business registry administration. 15 reformulated their municipal tax plans to support local economic growth.
Four national-level reforms advanced to implementation stage - including a relief package for workers, SME tax relief, a maritime worker protection law, and new Electronic Payment Regulations by Central Bank.
Labour intermediation
20 labour intermediaries expanded their services in Honduras.
Three vocational institutions developed new competency-based vocational programmes providing 7,241 temporary workers and 1,871 mariners with new or better jobs through work abroad. In 2022, the income from every four returned workers generated one additional job at home.
Impact on poverty
- 30,403 individuals (63 per cent women and youth) have new or better jobs, providing $131 million in additional annual income and wages (+$4,326/individual).
- Honduran enterprises (80 per cent of which are micro and small) are the drivers of these economic opportunities, investing $35,428,638 of their capital in systems changes and increasing sales by $86,688,324 as of 2022.
- 96 per cent of participants agree these changes are significant to their well-being and that of their families. 94 per cent intend to stay in Honduras, with less than 2 per cent having any likelihood of departing.
[updated April 2023]