Honduras

Publication Date: March 1, 2023

Honduras Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA)

The Honduras Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA) report outlines the key aspects of Honduras’ digital ecosystem and provides 9 recommendations for creating a more inclusive, safe, and enabling environment.

Resource Type: Country Assessment

Country: Honduras

Sector: Cross-Cutting

Honduras was one of the last countries to offer mobile services in 1994. Since then, the uptake of digital technology has lagged compared to its Latin America and Caribbean neighbors. Connectivity remains a challenge with low levels of affordability, availability, and use, coupled with a lack of digital infrastructure. Policy implementation is slow, while capacity gaps and administration changes reduce efforts to close digital divides and protect citizens from digital harms. Due to a lack of technical capacity and resources, civil society organizations (CSOs) support for digital rights protection is fragmented. Meanwhile, the digital economy is hampered by poor connectivity, a challenging operating environment, a lack of trust, and minimal regulatory oversight. However, there is an opportunity for digital transformation with President Xiomara Castro’s new República Digital (Digital Republic) Plan for bridging the digital divide, the National Digital Agency for overseeing e-governance, and jumpstarting a burgeoning creative economy.

The Honduras DECA was carried out between March and November 2022. It included desk research, 76 interviews with stakeholders from civil society, academia, the private and public sectors, and international development organizations, and was guided by USAID Honduras 2020–2025 Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS).

1. Facilitate a systems change approach–social, economic, justice and security, environmental, education.
2. Partner and co-create with the private sector to capitalize on shared values, foster innovation, and facilitate joint investment where interests align
3. Generate opportunities for citizens–especially youth–to actively engage and invest in their future in Honduras

Pillar 1: Digital Infrastructure and Adoption

• The current legal, policy, and regulatory environment in Honduras is hindering connectivity expansion, especially when it comes to eliminating barriers for new providers, such as infrastructure sharing. CONATEL is developing a National Broadband Plan to help set new goals for the country’s ICT policies and infrastructure development, but this Plan has yet to be released.
• Honduras is one of three countries in Central America that have authorized access to unlicensed spectrum. Accessing unlicensed spectrum and other alternative connectivity solutions could help ISPs expand their reach to rural communities.
• Efforts to digitize education are succeeding, but digital literacy is not integrated into the national primary and secondary curricula. Digital literacy can provide tools for students and teachers to navigate online safely and can enable access to new opportunities and resources.

Pillar 2: Digital Society, Rights, and Governance

• There is no specific law regulating the protection of personal data and its use in public services or the private sector.
• Honduras has no cybersecurity laws or government entities to oversee cybersecurity protection. And there is a need to promote confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems and networks.
• The Digital Republic is the official initiative that oversees the implementation of digital government services and guides.

Pillar 3: Digital Economy

• The level of financial inclusion in Honduras continues to be low. A challenging operating environment for non-bank financial service providers, a narrow supply of relevant financial services, and poor connectivity widen financial inclusion gaps.

• E-commerce is slow to take off. The lack of a clear regulatory framework, a weak logistics infrastructure, and a high level of business informality are contributing to limited numbers of online sales and purchases.

• The digital talent pool does not currently meet the labor market demand, though efforts