Mipymes

Micro and small-business representatives say they cannot compete with Chinese-owned stores that have access to cheaper financing, larger import volumes, and industrial-scale production, raising concerns about local manufacturing and employment.

Congress approved transferring 2.15 billion lempiras (about $86 million) from a small-business fund to Banhprovi, Honduras's development and housing bank, to expand lending for small and medium enterprises, productive activities, and home purchases through private financial institutions.

Honduras's MIPYMES federation president José Castañeda endorsed the government's plan to reduce operating expenses while redirecting resources to productive infrastructure, citing poor road conditions and a growing public-sector labor liability that drains budgets with each administration.

A representative of small and medium enterprises warned that ongoing power cuts and rising fuel prices pose an existential threat to hundreds of businesses across Honduras.

With informal employment near 78%, experts say Honduras can expand formal jobs by strengthening micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises through better access to financing, streamlined regulations, and growth incentives.

BAC Honduras and the OPEC Fund for International Development signed a $50 million financing agreement to expand credit access for small and medium-sized businesses, including women-led firms, and support climate-related investments in Honduras.

Honduras's part-time employment law, which promised to generate opportunities since March 2026, has produced only 206 contracts across 43 companies, while restaurants and small businesses across the country announce closures, blamed partly on rising electricity costs.

The National Financial Inclusion Strategy (ENIF) 2025–2030 aims to expand access to bank accounts, digital payments, and formal credit for rural Hondurans, women, and small businesses historically locked out of the formal system.

A National Congress member proposed reopening the enrollment period for a microbusiness tax-incentive program that expired, conditioning new benefits on companies creating at least 20% more jobs and adding safeguards against fraud and duplicate claims.

A relaunched national plan, backed by the government and tech firm KOLAU, will let more than 10,000 micro and small businesses create an AI-powered online store free in about one minute, officials say.

Congresswoman Dunia Jiménez (Libre, Cortés) has proposed exempting mortgages and small-business loans from Honduras's Tasa de Seguridad Poblacional, a fee she says raises borrowing costs and blocks access to credit for entrepreneurs and homebuyers.

Frequent blackouts are crippling Honduras's micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, with the sector reporting estimated daily losses of 15 million lempiras (about $600,000) as outages lasting up to six hours halt production and sales.

Three blackouts lasting 6 to 8 hours in September have cost small and medium-sized businesses in the Valle de Sula an estimated 30 million lempiras (about $1.2 million), with most lacking backup generators to sustain operations, a sector representative said.

A 12.48% increase in electrical rates for the third quarter of 2026 is straining micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the San Pedro Sula region, which say they cannot absorb the cost hike without losing competitiveness.