CSEM/ADED Valle: An Alternative for Women's Entrepreneurship in the Gulf of Fonseca region, Honduras

Abstract

Through the testimonies of the protagonists, this case study reconstructs the experience of the creation of the Service Center for Women's Entrepreneurship (CSEM), which has been providing technical and financial services to entrepreneurs in the border department of Valle, Honduras, since 2006. CSEM operates from the institutional framework of the Local Economic Development Agency ADED and although born with the support of international cooperation, including programs MyDEL (Women and Local Economic Development) and MARS (Women and Teenagers in Social Risk) it has now become economically independent, despite the profound economic and political crisis that has brought Honduras to its knees in recent years. The CSEM is the first service center specialized in local economic development and women’s entrepreneurship with a gender perspective. Despite initial skepticism due to traditional views on women’s roles in society, through research in partnership with the University of Zamorano it has been possible to demonstrate that women entrepreneurs, with their knowledge and power, are already involved in local development while needing and demanding training and support to gain access to credit and fair markets. From the cases of women honey producers and women managing guest houses on the island of Amapala, it is clear that, far from being limited in a subsistence economy, female entrepreneurs want to improve their business and contribute to the development both of their families and their communities.

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