USAID-Assisted Microenterprise Featured on Tegucigalpa Day
A rising USAID-assisted microenterprise took center stage in Tegucigalpa, Honduras’s capital, during “Tegucigalpa Day”. Tegucigalpa Day is a city-wide event organized by the municipality to create awareness on key municipal issues. This year’s theme was “First the Poor” and it focused on economic development, disaster mitigation, and health.
Ambassador Llorens and Tegucigalpa Mayor, Ricardo Alvarez, accompanied by USAID Deputy Mission Director, Daniel Smolka, visited INSACOR (Sacred Heart) a family-owned micro-enterprise that produces traditional Honduran food products. INSACOR has benefited from two of USAID/Honduras’s programs: a development credit line and technical assistance from the Rural Economic Diversification (RED) program.
INSACOR received technical assistance from the RED program on the processing, packing, and marketing of their products. The USAID/RED program also served as a liaison for INSACOR with Banco Atlántida, one of Honduras’s largest banks and a signatory to a $2.5 million USAID credit line.
Through USAID/RED’s assistance and with financing from Banco Atlántida, INSACOR has expanded its operations and has achieved nation-wide distribution. INSACOR has developed and improved 39 products, and is currently developing 14 more. Throughout the last three years INSACOR has increased its annual sales from $12,000 to $200,000. Over the same period of time, Banco Atlántida has provided loans totaling over $900,000 to approximately 60 small and medium enterprises.
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