Honduras - Beauty salons, cafés, clothing shops, fabrication and marketing of handicrafts, and grocery stores are some of the microenterprises to be launched by 114 women in the Honduran cities of Ocotepeque, Santa Rosa de Copán and Copan Ruinas.

The women, all of them at risk from gender-based violence, will get seed funding and equipment for their new enterprises and ongoing business training and support from IOM. They have already received training in basic business skills, financial management and accounting controls.

The initiative is part of an IOM project: "BA 1: Prevention of Violence against Women in Central America," promoted by the Central American Integration System (SICA, by its Spanish acronym). In Honduras, the programme is coordinated by IOM, the National Department of Security, the National Institute for Women (INAM, by its Spanish acronym), UNFPA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The training and financial support will provide the support that they need to achieve greater economic independence and generate income for their families. The project aims to eventually help some 500 women over the age of 18 and at risk of gender violence in the municipalities of La Ceiba, Tela, Choloma, San Pedro Sula, Omoa, Trojes and Tegucigalpa.

Likza Salazar, IOM’s National Project Officer in Honduras, says that the women are all capable of starting their own businesses. “IOM’s aim is to give the beneficiaries the necessary skills to enable them to create sustainable microenterprises and generate income and profits to support their families," she says.

The institutions promoting the initiative will monitor the efforts of each participant, guiding each business idea, and inviting the participants to constitute networks of women entrepreneurs throughout Honduras, she added.

For further information, please contact Karen Arita, IOM Honduras, Tel: (+504) 2220-1100 ext. 1625,  Email: karita@iom.int