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Three days left before the end of registrations for the Honduras Digital Challenge, it is appropriate to make a final call to people with a technology startup to register and opt for the possibility of receiving funding for their ideas. 
 Honduras Próspera Inc. has partnered with the Honduras Digital Challenge (HDC) program to advance its mission of connecting talented islanders with opportunities for professional and personal growth. 
 This year, the HDC program is holding its fifth edition, which has as its theme: "The Digital Transformation for the Economic Recovery of the Country." This innovative project includes workshops, mentoring, conferences and networking for the participating teams, and seed capital for the finalists. 
 Próspera joins other renowned companies in the area of ​​economic development such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, as well as other partners to make this program possible. The areas in which people can register until February 28, 2021 are: 1) Business Software, 2) Medical Technology, 3) Agrotechnology, 4) Electronic Commerce & Fintech, 5) Education, 6) Civic Technology (Digital oriented solutions problems of the public sector) and 7) Green Technology (Products and services that generate a benefit to the environment directly or indirectly, reducing or eliminating the effects caused by global warming). 
 José Luis Moncada, coordinator of the Honduras Digital Challenge, expressed being happy to have the support of a company such as Honduras Prospera, committed to promoting all people who seek to reach their maximum potential. Prospera catalyzes economic opportunity through prosperity hubs, established on a single legal and regulatory framework, designed to stimulate economic development, employment, and prosperity in Honduras. 
 Honduras Digital Challenge is an initiative that provides the tools and support necessary for those who want to develop as professionals, especially in the area of ​​technology. Interested persons can register at www.hdc.hn until February 28, 2021.

Honduras Digital Challenge and Honduras Prospera bring growth for innovators in Roatán

Roatán

Próspera

In an interview with the Financial Times, Erick Brimen, CEO of Honduras Próspera, shares how his approach to leadership turned into a destinal resolve to help Honduras thrive. Brimen stresses the benefits of investing in safe-enclaves as a “fast-track” to development in the country.

An investor’s ‘prosperity’ vision for Honduras

The "Roatán Prospera" project promises to install a Special Economic Development Zone (ZEDE) in the Bay Islands, with millionaire investments in the health, education, agriculture and research sectors in the medium term. The project is in the initial phase, according to the Sampedran investors, who promise to co-invest around 500 million dollars together with US, German and Guatemalan capital. 
Among the works to be built is a hospital aimed at medical tourism in partnership with the Technische Universitát Múnchen (TUM) of Germany, with the vision of a center for education and innovation. The academic programs will be interdisciplinary, as well as an applied research and development agenda to create a new standard for higher education and innovation in Honduras with regional scope, according to investors' plans. 
 "ZEDE" promises to invest $ 500 million in Roatán
Among the plans is the construction of an integrated campus for lifelong learning that will include vocational training in sectors such as hospitality and agriculture that will provide immediate benefits to the economy of Roatán, they assure in the information portals. "The Roots High School" is another of the projects they hope to host in this "Special Development Zone", with an innovative high school, American autonomous in the state of Utah. The center will integrate high-quality education through the teaching of sustainable agricultural practices, transforming students into farmers and entrepreneurs who will contribute to Roatan's economy. This ambitious project includes the architecture firm "LAVA", with offices in Sydney, Australia; Shanghai, China; and Berlin, Germany, which has decided to open a studio in Prosperous Roatán. The plan encompasses La Ceiba with the project "InSITE BAVARIA: Honduras Prospera" with experience in planning, developing and operating a single manufacturing, logistics and supply chain center on land. (JB).

"ZEDE" promises to invest $ 500 million in Roatán

This is indicated by the executives of Roatán Próspera, who announced the project with the promise that it will bring a diversification and strengthening of the economy with the creation of new jobs in sectors of health care, education, technological innovation and tourism. 
Erick Brimen, CEO of Próspera, told D&N that they estimate an investment in the first five years of the first phase of the project of 500 million dollars (12.5 billion lempiras) and generate 10,000 jobs. Brimen announced that the works for the first building of the project will begin once the emergency in the country due to Covid-19 passes or at the end of this year 2020. He also guaranteed that 90% of the employees hired will be Honduran and will also take the Honduran labor law as a reference. 
However, wages and social benefits will be 10% higher in order to give better compensation to workers. When consulting on the sovereignty conflicts that have historically haunted the initiatives for the creation of the ZEDE in Honduras, Brimen explains that the project is not a country in another country, but is framed in national legal norms. He also says that he is a volunteer for companies and workers who want to invest and work in him. “Sovereignty is not in question. This is a Honduran project, the legal framework is Honduran and the process that has been followed is anchored in the decisions made by the National Congress and the competent authorities, ”said Erick Brimen.

Competitiveness promises the first ZEDE in Roatán

Zaha Hadid Architects with AKT II and Hilson Moran partnership have developed a digital architectural platform to create homes for Roatán Próspera. The residential designs are a specific ecological and social response to the climate, terrain and culture of Roatán in the Caribbean, the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras. 
The designs learn from the wisdom of the past, integrating the local vernacular tradition of timber construction, climatic appropriateness and spatial experience with new digital design, engineering and, construction techniques. 
Working with AKT II, the design approach starts from a comprehensive understanding of the local supply chain, logistics and construction techniques to promote the use of local materials, craftsmanship and manufacturing facilities which support the economy of the region. 
The design’s modular system is founded on the use of sustainable timber, sourced nearby from certified forests on the Honduran mainland and treated locally, to form the main structural elements. Digital information technologies will optimise the use of all parts of the sustainablyforested logs to minimize waste and pollution. 
This process also contributes to reducing the embedded construction energy and carbon footprint of the development. Erick A. Brimen, CEO of Honduras Próspera LLC, explains: “The design prioritises sustainability and is integral to our vision for Roatán Próspera. 
The island of Roatán is already a renowned tourist destination. Roatán Próspera will strengthen and diversify the local economy while creating homes defined by their natural environment.” With considerable reductions in waste material, and a higher quality of construction due to the greater precision achieved by off-site fabrication, this modular system of assembly is a costcontrolled solution specifically tailored to local supply chains, transportation and installation. 
The dimensions of the structure’s base timber units have been established to follow the constraints of the local transportation networks to ensure carbon emissions and logistics costs are minimised. The use of lightweight timber results in a reduced and adaptive foundation system that can be fabricated off-site, keeping intervention to the site minimal and giving maximum protection to the site’s native flora and fauna.

Zaha Hadid with AKT II and Hilson Moran develop a digital architectural platform for a Caribbean residential project

Architecture

Goverment

An International development group, in cooperation with the government of Honduras, announced today the launch of Roatán Próspera, a special economic zone on the island of Roatán designed to foster entrepreneurship and sustainable economic development initiatives that will create jobs and strengthen and diversify the Roatán economy. 
 The zone is expected to attract over $500M in foreign direct investment by 2025. As part of the initial wave of socioeconomic development projects, the developers announced partnerships with Cemesa to build a new hospital, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) to create a University and educational center, a leading Latin American energy company to build renewable energy facilities, and others. 
 The developers also announced the pre-sale marketing of residential units designed by the London-based, world-class architecture firm of Zaha Hadid Architects. The units’ design combines advanced digital timber fabrication techniques with sustainably-sourced local materials and labor, and seeks to reflect the most advanced concepts in architectural design through the prism of local culture. 
 Erick Brimen, CEO of Honduras Próspera LLC, the development group, stated: “These world-class enterprises have been attracted to Roatán Próspera because it is a vibrant platform for success for local and international businesses and entrepreneurs. Roatán Próspera will be an unprecedented creator of jobs and diversified socioeconomic development for Roatan, and the rest of the Bay Islands of Honduras.” 
 Tristan Monterosso, a lifelong Roatán resident and Technical Secretary for the Próspera ZEDE, stated: “The COVID crisis has shown the vulnerability of the tourism industry on which the island of Roatán has historically depended. While I am confident that tourism will recover, diversifying our Roatán economy is an urgent priority. To do that, we need to attract investment, which is exactly what Roatán Próspera is doing.” 
 Brimen explained that Roatán Próspera is built upon a next-generation form of Special Economic Zone called ZEDEs (“Zonas de empleo y desarrollo económico”), which were enabled by the Honduran constitution and subsequently approved by a supermajority of the National Congress. 
 The key evolution of this form of Special Economic Zone over prior ones created in Honduras and throughout the world, is that ZEDEs enable the Government of Honduras, in cooperation with international development organizations and investors, to adopt proven reforms within the SEZs that significantly enhance the overall rule of law and institutional environment that protects human rights and enhances the ease of doing business. The ZEDE program is overseen by an oversight committee, the CAMP (“Comité para la Adopción de Mejores Prácticas”), created by the Honduran Congress. 
The Supreme Court of Honduras retains final control over the special court circuit the Constitution authorizes to serve for ZEDE related disputes. The legal structure put in place for Roatán Próspera and approved by CAMP has been evaluated by the leading U.S. consulting firm Ernst & Young. Based on the World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business" methodology, E&Y found that Roatán Próspera would rank among the top-ten jurisdictions in the world for entrepreneurial initiatives, particularly in the realms of healthcare, education, agricultural innovation and processing, aeronautics, financial services, and logistics. 
 Among the founding principles of the Honduras Próspera group is respect for the rights of the Honduran people and the sovereignty of the Honduran government. “We are committed to creating opportunity for Honduran people to remain and prosper in their country,” Brimen said. Brimen added that Roatán Próspera is the first geographical hub his group is launching but that plans are far advanced for a second hub, near the mainland city of La Ceiba, that will feature a major industrial park. InSITE BAVARIA, a German business-location consulting firm associated with the Technical University of Munich, is the lead advising firm for the La Ceiba project. 
 The developers and advisers believe the La Ceiba hub is ideally located for U.S., Canadian and Latin American companies to address the disruption of supply chains originating in Asia whose vulnerability was exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Relocating supply chains to Central America would create shorter, more predictable and environmentally preferable solutions for companies in many industries. Also today, the developers launched a website announcing the Roatán Próspera project and providing further details about the Próspera vision. <a href="https://prospera.hn/">https://prospera.hn/</a>

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Despite the Roatan COVID-19 economy shut down a large, perhaps the biggest project the island has ever seen was announced.<a href="https://prospera.hn/"> Próspera</a>, a company with $17.5 million capital and 58-acre site on the north shore aims to change Roatan’s future. Próspera, has built a team of first-class associates with architectural design by <a href="https://www.zaha-hadid.com/">Zaha Hadid Architects</a>, evaluation by Ernst & Young, and business interest from CEMESA Hospital.
Próspera’s website states that by 2025 the project will have a “foreign direct investment of at least $500M and new jobs created (direct) of at least 10,000.” On an island of 100,000 people theses numbers are staggering. If Próspera’s goals will ever be achieved they key will lie in tying the project to Honduras’ “Zonas de empleo y desarollo económico” <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_for_Employment_and_Economic_Development_(Honduras)">[ZEDE]</a> – Zone for Employment and Economic Development. Próspera is the first company to take advantage of this ZEDE laws passed in 2015. While many islanders dismiss the legislation as irrelevant to their lives, some see its potential as an opportunity for a business boom and others see it as threat to property ownership in Honduras.
The man behind Próspera is <a href="https://www.erickbrimen.com/">Erick Brimen</a>, the company’s Venezuelan born and US educated CEO. His 2005 thesis in Babson College was “how one could direct market forces to solve social problems,” and he sees Roatan Próspera doing just that. While Brimen has been coming to the island since 2016, he has been thinking about Roatan since high school.
In 2002 Brimen heard a high school friend talk about Roatan and describing the island’s potential as being held back because of the lack of legal infrastructure that Cayman Islands had. That friend was Tristan Monterroso, a Roatanian pastor who now sits on Próspera’s council. “When Honduras past the ZEDEs law and the Supreme Court ruled it constitutional it clicked on me that that could be a delivery mechanism for a place like Roatan to have more prosperity,” said Brimen. Two islanders are now part of the project: Tristan Monterroso and Duane McNab, owner of Max Communications and Próspera’s Council Member.

Prosperity on the Horizon?

A multipurpose complex being built on 58 acres in Roatán, distant from the Crawfish Rock area, seeks to be the platform to catalyze economic development opportunities.Roatán Prospera is the first economic development center built on the Prosperous Platform, which institutes key controls of the governmental power, a bill of rights that protects people of all income levels and a simple structure for doing business, according to the premise of its executives. 
 “Roatán is an attractive place for entrepreneurs and corporations to locate their businesses and create jobs. Its port facilities, proximity to shipping lanes, direct access to flights to and from key cities in the United States, and well-developed tourism economy, not to mention its impressive natural beauty, "said Erick Brimen, CEO of Próspera in an interview. to LA PRENSA newspaper.

Roatán's Zede promises more than 10,000 jobs

Zaha Hadid Architects has designed a modular housing project for an island near Honduras with curved roofs and rounded balconies that can be customised by residents. Roatán Próspera is a residential community intended for Roatán, a Caribbean island off the coast of Honduras.
Set to break ground later this year, the complex will be a modular construction composed of timber-framed residences with curved palapa roofs, expansive terraces with rounded balconies and green space, designed as a reference to the area's traditional building techniques.
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) intend to use timber from certified forests on mainland Honduras, as part of its aim to develop a localised supply chain in a bid to make the project more environmentally-friendly. The firm is working with computational engineers AKT II to develop a "kit of parts" outlining elements needed to build Roatán Próspera without material waste.
In the proposal, Roatán Próspera's modules will be fabricated off-site and transported using local networks to cut back on carbon emissions, and also to prevent harm to wildlife on the site. Residents of the complex will have access to a digital parametric software developed by ZHA's Computational and Design Group to customise the size, arrangement and furnishings of their housing module.

Zaha Hadid Architects unveils Roatán Próspera housing complex for Honduras

Prosperity on the Horizon?

Roatán's Zede promises more than 10,000 jobs

Zaha Hadid Architects unveils Roatán Próspera housing complex for Honduras

Prosperity on the Horizon?

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