Honduras Starts to Make Real Headway as a BPO Player
September 23rd, 2011By Peter Ryan
As the potential options for Nearshore delivery to the US continue to increase, Ovum notes with interest the slow but steady emergence of Honduras as a viable location for BPO delivery. Although arguably not a country on the shortlist of many prospective investors even two years ago because of concerns surrounding stability and crime, more vendors and their clients are looking at Honduras in a different light.
COUNTRY PROFILE: Fighting Labor Scalability Issues, Honduras Kick Starts BPO Industry
December 8th, 2010By Tarun George
San Pedro Sula, home to the new Altia Business Park, generates about 60% of the Honduras GDP.
When Nearshore Americas reported on the ‘Nearshore Business and Investment Forum’ in San Pedro Sula, Honduras in September, we were impressed at the number of multinational firms in attendance. Players like Atento, Sykes and Sitel showed up, indicating there is no lack of “shoppers” poking around looking to better understand the Honduras sourcing equation.
With a long history in manufacturing, Honduras looks set to climb the value ladder to professional services. But analysts fear that the main ingredient for a strong call center destination – a skilled language proficient workforce – may be in short supply. Can Honduras produce enough talented labor to meet firms’ demand, or will the market become quickly saturated like so many others before?
Atento, Sykes and Sitel Get a Closer Look at Honduras
September 8th, 2010
The Nearshore Business and Investment Forum attracted local and multinational visitors to San Pedro Sula last week.
“Untapped” is one of the first words you might use to describe the Honduras BPO/ call center industry. This is a country that has bounced back from an economically disruptive coup last year to reclaim attention as a value-driven destination worth paying attention to. And – according to our on the ground observers – the Honduras opportunity is definitely on the radar of major multinationals.
Atento, Sykes and Sitel were all in attendance last week during a “Nearshore Business and Investment Forum” at the historic Copantl Hotel and Meeting Center in San Pedro Sula. So what did these global firms learn?
How Much has the Coup Hurt Honduras?
February 27th, 2010Is now the time for investors to take a real look at setting up BPO operations in Honduras? Foreign Minister Mario Canahuati explains why things have changed for the better since last year’s coup.
Nearshore BPO Experts Deliver Optimistic Message to Honduran President Lobo
February 10th, 2010Tegucigalpa – American Business leaders told Honduran President Porfirio Lobo Sosa the country is becoming better positioned to attract jobs in the field of call centers and business process outsourcing.
Leading the delegation was Ruben Sorto, a representative of Group Karims, who manages marketing at San Pedro Sula’s Altia Business Park, the first business and technology park that houses offices, multinational corporations and service customer care in the region.
Also present were Peter Ryan, principal analyst at Ovum contact center outsourcing and BPO, Jeff Pappas, senior vice president and partner at Arledge Associations (and Nearshore Americas columnist) and and Ann Harts of The Harts Group.
These companies are related to the industry of call centers, server support, back office services, telemarketing and operational bases for regional corporate headquarters. Investments in this industry have grown in recent years in Central America.
The call centers industry has created about 30,000 jobs …
World-Class Honduras BPO Facility Set to Open in February
November 12th, 2009SOURCE: LAPRENSAHN.COM (Translated from Espanol)
Altia Park will unveil a new service industry that opens the doors for foreign and domestic companies with the installation of first three-tower communications in February, 2010. This is expected to generate about a thousand jobs in the north of the country.
Daniel Facussé, president of the Honduran Maquila Association, AHM, said that Altia will succeed because everything relating to the sale of communication becomes more profitable to firms in these times of crisis and it also involves outsourcing. Maquila Association provides this service and does so within institutions.
Ruben Sorto, marketing manager Karim’s group, which has started this initiative, explained that despite the blows of the economic crisis, the play was not halted.
To implement this type of modernistic buildings, said Sorto, the country now has favorable conditions, such as having the best fiber optic network in Central and communication infrastructure at low cost. …
It Will Take More than Good PR to Repair Fractured Honduran Government
October 6th, 2009
Robert Micheletti hopes words and influence will improve his stature in the Americas.
News has come out this week that the new Honduran government has hired a Washington, DC based public relations firm to put a positive spin on the regime’s legitimacy.
The story, first broke by The Hill, tells you a lot about how much things have deteriorated in Honduras. One of the worst impacts is of course on the fledgling BPO sector, which we have reported on several times in previous posts. (I had just filed a post about the rising fortunes of Honduras in June here, when a few days later the coup was initiated).
The new government will spend close to $300,000 for four months of PR support. The firm, Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates, will undoubtedly work hard with national media outlets, including major newspaper and broadcasters, to provide more details
Businessmen in Honduras Move to End the Political Nonsense
October 1st, 2009SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES
By ELISABETH MALKIN
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Stung by the loss of their American visas and concerned about Honduras’s increasing international isolation, the country’s leading businessmen have put forward their own plan to resolve the political crisis here.
In the plan, which was made public earlier this week, supporters of the coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya three months ago have for the first time suggested his return as president. But at the same time the plan calls for him to face trial on charges that he stole money while in office.
“What we’re trying to do is break the ice,” said Adolfo J. Facussé, president of the country’s manufacturing association.
Mr. Facussé said he had put forward his own proposal because he thought that other countries, particularly the United …
