Honduras BPO Stays the Course Despite Political Instability

The more I talk to those connected to the Honduras outsourcing sector, the more I realize that – frankly – the country might just be a lot better off if former President Manuel Zelaya never comes back to the capital of Tegucigalpa. Even US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says an attempt by Zelaya to return to Honduras would be “reckless” and would damage attempts for constitutional order.
No hard feeling Mel, but if you and the rest of the political leadership want to truly serve your country then walk away from the righteous arguments and let stability – and commercial growth and opportunity – prevail.
Of course, the political situation in Honduras is not that simple. But what is encouraging is that despite the past several weeks of negotiations and high-level wrangling, the country’s emerging BPO industry is holding itself together nicely.
First, it is critically important to note that the cooler heads in such situations are often business people and investors who see well beyond the political rhetoric, knowing that this too shall pass. Companies preparing to establish or expand operations in Honduras include the giant food and agricultural corporation Cargill, the globally renowned marketing and ad agency McCann Ericsson, and Netsol, a global provider of  business services with branches around the world.  This encouraging news was relayed to me by Ruben Sorto, Corporate Marketing and New Projects Director at Grupo Karims, which is establishing several world-class office centers, including the Altia Business Park project near San Pedro Sula. (Check out the virtual tour here.) “The project is right on track and within the scheduled program,” says Sorto. “We will finish the first tower by December and we expect to have everything up and running in the first quarter of 2010.”Sorto says that his firm has rented about 70% of the first tower (14 floors, each floor with 11,000 sq. feet) to corporate tenants.  

Honduran-based business leaders are continuing to come out publicly in support of Zelaya’s ouster: “We’re here to support the brave actions of the new government, said Santiago Ruiz, president of the Agriculture Association of Honduras.
While some might argue that Zelaya’s strength was in promoting Honduras as a public relations pitch man, the reality is – upon reflection – that he appeared to quite keen to establish his own home made brand of continuismo, where he would defy the constitution and hold on to power as long as possible.
As we’ve said in this blog before, Honduras has a great upside in terms of outsourced services. We just hope that same sense of patience and focus that helps create sound businesses begins to form the foundational approach of the national government level.

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