A path for sustained economic growth is being set in Honduras and the progress achieved to date has been endorsed by the international financial community and by international development organizations.
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News surrounding Honduras' economic progress has been overwhelmingly positive.
From a dramatic 12-spot climb in the 2015-2016 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index, more than any other Latin American country, to a recent endorsement by the International Monetary Fund of the country's economic performance having entered a "virtuous cycle."
Additionally, continued GDP growth projections above 3.5 percent and the second-highest level of Foreign Direct Investment in Central America are positive indicators for growth.
In this context, the recent approval by the National Congress of a national development plan dubbed "Honduras 20/20" may be the most ambitious move yet to build on recent achievements.
The plan, developed as a joint initiative of the public and private sectors with strategic support from international consulting firm McKinsey, seeks to generate 600,000 jobs during a five-year period (2016 – 2020), by promoting four key sectors where Honduras has a strong competitive advantage: tourism, textiles, intermediate manufacturing and business process outsourcing (BPOs).
By positioning Honduras as the leading beach destination in Central America, the plan expects to create approximately 255,000 new jobs in the tourism sector in the next five years, while generating an investment of USD $850 million.
Meanwhile, as the textiles industry is restructured to become one of the leading exporters to the United States and Europe, the plan seeks to generate approximately 200,000 jobs with a potential to create $4.2 billion in exports.
In terms of the intermediate manufacturing industry, through the development of the fastest-growing auto-parts and electrical equipment manufacturing cluster in the continent, the plan expects to create 95,000 jobs and generate exports for an estimated $2.83 billion.
In addition, the BPO sector aims to focus on developing and training the country's bilingual youth to generate 50,000 jobs and an estimated $1.45 billion, by focusing on the latest trends in business processing and information technology. ■