SUPPORTING SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN HONDURAS
Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and has one of the world’s highest murder rates. More than half of the population lives in poverty and per capita income is one of the lowest in the region. Poverty rates are high-
Among other resources available to Banco Ficohsa, the OPEC Fund loan contributed to the financial intermediary signifi- cantly increasing the amount of finance available to SMEs in Honduras: Banco Ficohsa increased their outstanding SME
er among rural and indigenous people and in the south, west, and along the eastern border than in the north and central areas where most of Honduras’ industries and infrastructure are concentrated. Small and medium-sized enter-
portfolio from US$268 million to US$405 mil- lion (a more than 50 percent increase) and the share of Ficohsa’s outstanding SME portfolio in its total loan portfolio rose from 9 percent in 2021 to 11 percent in 2023. Not only existing
prises (SMEs), crucial to providing employment and income generating opportunities for ensuring economic growth in Honduras: At the time of project inception, SMEs in the county accounted for over 60 percent of employment gen- eration. Yet, similar to other partner countries, SMEs in Hon- duras consistently reported the lack of access to adequate financing as an important constraint to their ability to thrive. In 2021, the OPEC Fund provided the Honduran bank Banco Financiera Comercial Hondureña S.A. (Banco Ficohsa) with a term loan of US$25 million for on-lending to SMEs across different industries including manufacturing, agriculture, textile, and other businesses. Banco Ficohsa had been estab- lished in 1994 and is the largest bank in Honduras by assets and among the top banks for loans and deposits.
SME clients benefited: Banco Ficohsa increased the number of SME clients it serves by 663 during the period (from 2,052 in 2021 to 2,715 in 2023, a 32 percent increase).
50 PERCENT 32 PERCENT . and the number of SME clients by Banco Ficohsa increased its outstanding SME portfolio by more than
57
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