Small Business

About 100 formal restaurants have closed in Honduras through 2026 as economic contraction cuts consumer visits and rising utility costs, water shortages, and operational expenses squeeze the sector, says the president of the Honduran Gastronomy Association.

The head of Honduras's small-business chamber, Victorino Carranza, called on Congress's recent electricity system reforms to cut operating costs for micro and small enterprises, saying companies should pay only for energy consumed and that unpredictable rates now hamper financial planning.

About 300 shoe and textile workshops have closed in the San Pedro Sula area over 24 months as cheap imports from China and Panama undercut local makers, affecting over 1,500 workers and prompting artisans to seek better access to raw materials and financing.

José Castañeda, president of Honduras's small and medium enterprise federation, argues that weak domestic production and outdated economic policies—not Chinese immigrants—are the real obstacles to Honduran competitiveness, as Congress investigates the entry of approximately 13,000 Asian citizens since 2022.

Economic Development Minister Eddy Ordóñez said the government is shifting from steep fines to warnings and guidance for small businesses, has conducted over 1,500 compliance trainings, and expects to announce a manufacturing-sector expansion creating more than 1,600 jobs.

Honduras's Health Ministry is now requiring sellers of used clothing to obtain a sanitary license, a new requirement that traders say costs about 21,000 lempiras (roughly $840) and must be completed within three days, raising concerns among small vendors who previously faced no such mandate.

About 50 restaurants closed nationwide in July as rising costs for utilities, supplies, and labor combined with weak consumer demand and municipal red tape, threatening roughly 2,000 jobs, the Gastronomic Association of Honduras says.

Gremipe, the micro and small business association, warns that about 30,000 microenterprises have shut down nationwide so far this year, costing roughly 80,000 jobs, with power outages and rising production costs blamed for the closures.

The city of San Pedro Sula distributed equipment and supplies to 150 entrepreneurs across neighborhoods including Las Brisas, Bográn, and Chamelecón through its Capital Semilla program, paired with training in financial literacy, business planning, and digital marketing.

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.

Local authorities and small and medium-sized businesses in western Honduras called for approval of electricity-sector reforms, saying constant blackouts cause up to 100 million lempiras (about $4 million) in monthly losses.

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.