VP Harris Secures $5.2B Private Sector Pledge for Central America

More than $1 billion in new commitments announced today will create economic opportunity and help address the root causes of migration in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Vice President Kamala Harris and the Partnership for Central America (PCA) today announced more than $1 billion in new private sector commitments, as part of Central America Forward (CAF), a public-private partnership that was created in response to the Vice President's Call to Action for Northern Central America.

Today's announcement brings the overall total of new commitments to more than $5.2 billion since May 2021.

To date, CAF and other PCA partners include more than 50 companies and organizations that have made commitments to support inclusive economic growth in the region. These entities represent the financial services, textiles and apparel, agriculture, technology and telecommunications, and nonprofit sectors, among others.

These investments are creating jobs, connecting people to the digital economy, expanding access to financing for small businesses, providing training and education for youth, women and workers, and improving economic livelihoods for people in the region.

These investments are materializing into tangible opportunities for families and communities across integrated supply chains in Central America and the United States - benefiting students, employees, entrepreneurs, and families - and shaping a model for mobilizing private sector commitments through collective action to drive economic development.

NEW COMMITMENTS

The following companies and organizations announced major new commitments today:

• Acceso is a global social enterprise committed to creating fundamental and lasting economic change in the lives of rural smallholder farming families. From 2023 to 2028, Acceso will invest $3.6 million directly in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras as part of a larger $30 million program to scale its proven seed-to-market model to strengthen local food systems, improve incomes and livelihoods, and increase women's economic security. Over 10,000 producers in the agricultural, aquaculture, and artisanal fishing sectors will benefit directly from this investment, with an additional 30,000 benefiting from parallel collaborative efforts. The project will begin in El Salvador in partnership with USAID and the launch of the "Sustainable Market Access Project."
• Banco Cuscatlan, the second-largest bank in El Salvador, has committed to invest more than $30 million in El Salvador over the next five years, primarily in financial inclusion initiatives. These initiatives will enable 600,000 individuals to manage their money within the formal economy, providing access to more financial services, promoting investment in assets, increasing their savings, and fostering entrepreneurship. These initiatives are designed to create opportunities and promote sustainable development for future generations.
• Corporación AG, the largest steel producer in Central America, plans to invest more than $150 million in Guatemala over the next three years to increase its production and distribution capacity and anticipates generating more than 500 full-time jobs and more than 1,000 indirect jobs.
• Ficohsa, a leading provider of financial services in the region, committed to increasing their small and medium enterprise (SME) loan portfolio by $490 million over the next five years, prioritizing the growth of women-led businesses through preferential loans, insurance, and financial education. Additionally, Ficohsa will invest $50 million in digital services to expand financial inclusion and ensure that a greater share of remittances are banked and invested in assets, savings, and businesses.
• JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide, one of the world's largest youth-serving NGOs, will commit $3.6 million through an impact consortium that will provide labor skills training and technical certifications to over 1,800 vulnerable girls in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. The initiative aims to reduce gender inequality by promoting women's employment in the technology industry, facilitate access to employment and self-employment, with the goal of reducing migration due to lack of economic opportunities.
• Meta will make a 3-year commitment to train 250,000 youth, entrepreneurs and small business owners in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras by July 2025. Additionally, Meta is supporting an initiative to help over 9,000 women from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras including women who lead small and medium-sized enterprises to establish their online presence, seize the opportunities afforded by immersive technologies such as augmented reality, access financial services, and expand their operations to international markets.
• Pearson is committed to helping improve workforce development through lifelong learning solutions focused on upskilling and reskilling the young adult population needed in the productive sectors. Pearson commits to providing free access to various Pearson programs and tools for 3,000 high achieving, low income, young adult English language learners in El Salvador.
• Pantaleon, an agro-industrial organization, completed the first phase of urbanization for the Synergy Industrial Park and will soon have its official inauguration. Pantaleon has invested over $11M in the construction of the industrial park in Guatemala, generating 430 construction jobs. The Park has attracted $40M to date in new investment to Central America. As part of the new phases of Synergy, Pantaleon will commit an additional $42 million, including $15M toward workforce development with a special focus on women and indigenous communities; $25M in additional investment in the construction of the industrial park; and $1.5M to support the "Guatemala No Se Detiene" initiative to bring more foreign investment into Guatemala.
• Conecta, the platform that incorporates the investments of Grupo Energía Bogotá in Guatemala, committed to invest over $260 million in Guatemala for six electrical power transmission projects, estimated to create over 3,000 direct and 7,600 indirect jobs. The projects will help connect thousands of people who lack access to electricity and have a positive impact on the local economy, generating employment, and contributing to improved well-being.

IMPACT OF PREVIOUS COMMITMENTS

• Financial Inclusion and Access to Capital: Strengthening access to the formal financial sector allows businesses and individuals to save, invest, and access credit-fundamental building blocks to growth. Central America Forward investments have brought more than 2.5 million people into the formal economy, which is continued progress from 1 million financially announced in February 2023. Additionally, partners have provided more than $160 million in new access to capital for families and entrepreneurs to purchase a home, buy a car to get to work, and start new businesses, including more than $1.3 million in catalytic funding specifically for vulnerable populations and women in a region that has suffered from one of the highest rates of femicide globally.
• Skilling and Workforce Development: CAF investments have reached over 1 million learners with training programs on entrepreneurship, digital and financial literacy, skills for employment, and women's empowerment. 60,000 learners have been reached with programs that lead to certification or employment. Skill and workforce development efforts are critical enablers of access to opportunity and human development.
• Job Creation: CAF investments have generated more than 70,000 new jobs across Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. In a region where only one quarter of the labor force is formally employed, these investments are critical. The new jobs include more than 15,000 in manufacturing sectors to strengthen supply chains in critical sectors across the Americas and more than 30,000 in integrated textile production supply chains between the United States and Central America that support quality jobs in both regions.
• Digital Access: In May 2021, PCA mobilized commitments to expand digital access to 3 million people across the region. In record pace, by December 2022, 2 million of this goal had been reached and in July 2022 the original goal of 3 million was achieved. Going beyond that original goal, as of today, CAF investments have expanded digital access to more than 4.5 million people-surpassing the goal set at the launch of this initiative. Investing in connectivity supports individuals to access educational, employment opportunities, and grows new markets that create inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
• Food Security and Climate Adaptation: Partners have invested and procured more than $253 million in new products, services, and production capacity across the agricultural sector to increase the region's agricultural capacity, production, and exports to provide food security to families in Central America and across the world and in a region where more than 40% of the workforce depends on a sustainable agricultural sector for their livelihoods.
• Advancing Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses: Partner organizations have supported over 350,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and partner organizations across the region, which has connected small business owners to new markets and grow their businesses by improving their management, financial, digital capabilities, and provided new lending and access to capital.

ADDITIONAL UPDATES ON CAF INITIATIVES

• Good Governance, Good Jobs Declaration: PCA operationalized CAF's Good Governance, Good Jobs Declaration, by announcing in June 2023 a Corporate Pledge on the Rule of Law, with ten company signatories. PCA and Transparency International also launched the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Initiative (or "ACT Project") in September 2023 to help companies fulfill their commitments to the pledge and improve their capabilities for transparent and legal business practices. The ACT Project, self-funded by companies who volunteer to join, holds them accountable for operating responsibly in accordance with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct.
• CAF Investment Facilitation Team: A 12-member U.S. interagency delegation completed an extensive visit to Honduras in February 2024 to further explore the development of an economic corridor in Honduras. This strategic infrastructure project, led by Honduras and supported by the international community, multilateral development banks, and private sector, could potentially benefit the entire region, attracting investment, creating jobs, and providing social benefits to people throughout northern Central America. Other Investment Facilitation Team visits will take place to northern Central America in the months ahead.
• Central America Service Corps: USAID has entered into agreements with six partners to work together to develop Central America Services Corps (CASC) activities in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. USAID, together with host-country governments and private sector partners, will work with over 60,000 vulnerable youth and offer them alternatives to irregular migration through community service projects and technical assistance to match youth to potential jobs, training and mentoring, facilitating financial inclusion efforts, and direct financial support through stipends. CASC activities have commenced in Honduras. After a successful pilot, USAID and the government of Guatemala will officially launch CASC in May of 2024, and El Salvador will launch its program soon after. USAID coordinates activities with the U.S. Peace Corps, the Inter-American Foundation, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Partnership for Central America.
• Civil Society Coordination: In 2023, PCA launched the Regional Civil Society Council, which aims to provide a critical platform for civil society in Northern Central America in shaping and advising on the coordination of PCA's financial inclusion, capital access, diversity, digital access, and cross-cutting programs. Members of the Council include a diverse coalition of civil society, academia, and policy makers from the region, including indigenous groups.
• Financial Inclusion Consortium for Central American Remittances: The Financial Inclusion Consortium for Central American Remittances (FICCAR), an initiative of PCA in support of CAF, aims to boost people-to-people remittance to account transfers by at least 20 percentage points in the next five years. This collective commitment will result in digitizing nearly $14 billion in remittance transactions, resulting in safer, more secure, and lower-cost transactions that provide an opportunity to increase savings, thereby building assets and helping small businesses to grow.
• In Her Hands (IHH): On June 7, 2022, Vice President Harris launched In Her Hands (IHH), a women's economic security initiative with the goals of connecting more than 1.4 million women and their communities to the financial system and digital economy, accelerating women's participation in the agroindustry, training more than 500,000 women and girls in core job skills, promoting gender parity, and elevating women within companies across the region. To date, PCA has mobilized $113 million to directly support new programs for women that includes skills training programs; English language learning; and access to financial inclusion tools such as bank accounts, credit, and digital platforms. Today, PCA is formally launching the IHH Gender Pledge with the following signatories: Accion, Bancolombia, Corporación AG, Davivienda, Grupo Mariposa, Meta, Millicom, Nespresso, Pantaleon, and Technoserve. The pledge focuses on the inclusion of women in the procurement and development plans for government, non-profits, and the private sector.