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U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Chief Executive Officer Adam Boehler today joined Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, U.S. Embassy Honduras Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Colleen A. Hoey, and Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council Mauricio Claver-Carone to announce DFC’s intent to finance $1 billion of private sector investment over three years in Honduras. This effort will complement a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed today between the Governments of the United States and Honduras to establish a framework for bilateral cooperation in support of the Administration’s América Crece initiative.

“DFC is proud to support the Honduran people during this time of need around the world,” said Boehler. “We appreciate the Government of Honduras’s commitment to improve the business climate to facilitate investment and look forward to advancing our common goals through collaboration with the private sector. Public-private partnerships are fundamental to the strength of Honduras as a country and to the goals of América Crece.”

DFC’s efforts aim to promote economic growth and improve quality of life in Honduras while addressing regional security concerns. The agency also seeks to help Hondurans weather both the health and economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In pursuit of these goals, DFC will prioritize investments that:

• Bolster energy security, digital connectivity, and critical infrastructure to facilitate trade, investment, and job creation;

• Support health systems, medical supply chains, and access to water, sanitation, and nutrition to build more resilient communities;

• Expand financial services to create economic opportunity, especially for small businesses, women, and rural populations; and

• Leverage collaboration with like-minded institutions to maximize collective impact; DFC is working to advance the Jilamito hydropower project with IDB Invest, the private sector arm of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to provide a steady supply of power to La Ceiba, the third largest city in Honduras.

DFC’s financial tools, which include debt and equity investments, political risk insurance, and technical development, help businesses invest in emerging markets like Honduras. By mobilizing significant private capital, these tools play a key role in advancing the goals of América Crece. DFC has historically committed more than $600 million across roughly 75 investments in sectors such as energy, housing, and inclusive financial services in Honduras.

Launched in 2018, América Crece aims to channel the tools and resources of the U.S. Government—including DFC, the U.S. Departments of the Treasury, State, and Energy, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), and others—to catalyze private sector investment and growth across Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition to the MOU signed with Honduras under América Crece today, the U.S. has also signed similar frameworks with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica, and Panama.

Photo courtesy of Ian Mackenzie.