Honduras Blue Economy Financial Market Assessment

Please note that the deadline is based on Korean Standard Time Zone (KST, UTC+9)

INTRODUCTION TO GGGI

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization dedicated to supporting and promoting strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies. To learn more please visit about GGGI web page. 

• Project: Blue Fonseca: Enabling Blue Economy Investments in the Honduran Gulf of Fonseca (HN010). 

• Duty Station: Honduras. 

• Contract Duration: 1 October 2026 - 26 February 2027 (5 months) 

• Consultant Level: Level 4 

• Total Fees: USD 30,000

 

PROJECT BACKGROUND 

GGGI is implementing the Korea Green New Deal Trust Fund (KGNDTF) funded project Blue Fonseca: Enabling Blue Economy Investments in the Honduran Gulf of Fonseca, which is set within the Gulf of Fonseca, a biodiverse Pacific Bay shared by Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. It supports the Master Plan for the Gulf of Fonseca (MPGulf), a trinational initiative backed by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) to promote sustainable development, focusing on aquaculture and logistics.

Through its four outputs, Blue Fonseca is running a territorial and sectoral diagnosis, developing prioritized business models and investment plans, designing a dedicated Blue Finance instrument, and facilitating partnerships with Republic of Korea institutions and private-sector actors.

Under Output 3, the Blue Fonseca Project will design and structure a financial instrument aimed at mobilizing financing toward priority blue economy investments in the Honduran Gulf of Fonseca. The design of this instrument requires a robust understanding of the Honduran financial market, including the capacity and risk appetite of financial institutions, existing financial products and risk-mitigation mechanisms, financing demand and gaps, regulatory, environmental and social risk considerations, and the barriers affecting access to finance for aquaculture and associated logistics investments.

This Terms of Reference (TOR) outlines the requirements for an individual consultant to conduct a Financial Market Assessment that will provide the analytical basis for the subsequent design and structuring of the Blue Fonseca financial instrument. The assessment will complement and build upon relevant findings generated under Outputs 1 and 2, particularly regarding priority investment opportunities, business models, infrastructure needs and financing requirements, while avoiding duplication of analytical and stakeholder-consultation efforts already undertaken by the project.

 

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

1) General Objective of the consultancy

Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the Honduran financial market in order to provide actionable recommendations to inform the design and structuring of the Blue Fonseca financial instrument, based on the current conditions identified, funding opportunities, trends, gaps, barriers, relevant risks, and financing mechanisms that could support investments in the blue economy, with a particular focus on aquaculture and logistics in the Honduran Gulf of Fonseca.

 

2) Specific Objectives

a) Assess the structure, capacity, regulatory environment and sustainable-finance practices of the Honduran financial system (including banks, cooperatives, non-bank financial institutions, guarantee funds, among others), relevant to blue-economy investments.

b) Identify and assess existing debt financing instruments, guarantee instruments, sustainable finance solutions and other financial products, currently offered in the Honduran financial market, potentially applicable to aquaculture and associated logistics investments in the Gulf of Fonseca.

c) Assess the market opportunities and trends to finance blue economy investments specially focused in aquaculture and logistics infrastructure, including current financing gaps, existing blue economy market barriers, and regulatory, political and climate-related risks that might constrain the development of a blue economy investment financial instrument.

 

3) Actions by Activity

Activity 1: Assess the Honduran financial system and enabling environment.

• Assess the structure and relevant characteristics of the Honduran financial system, including key financial institutions, market conditions, regulatory framework and financial-sector trends relevant to aquaculture and blue economy investments.

• Assess the capacity and practices of relevant financial institutions to finance productive and blue economy investments, including sustainable finance strategies, Environmental and Social Risk Management Systems (ESRMS/SARAS), risk appetite and experience financing aquaculture, agriculture and associated infrastructure.

• Engage relevant financial-sector stakeholders, including regulators, commercial and development banks, cooperatives, guarantee institutions and other financial actors, to validate findings and identify institutional opportunities and constraints relevant to the future Blue Fonseca financial instrument.

 

Activity 2: Assess existing financial products and risk-mitigation mechanisms.

• Map and assess existing financial products and financing mechanisms potentially applicable to aquaculture, logistics and other priority blue economy investments, including loans, credit lines, leasing, guarantees, insurance and other relevant instruments.

• Assess the terms, eligibility requirements and accessibility of these products, including indicative ticket sizes, interest rates, tenors, collateral requirements, grace periods and other conditions affecting their suitability for different types of borrowers and investments.

• Identify existing or potential risk-sharing and blended finance mechanisms—including guarantees, concessional finance, first-loss arrangements, technical assistance or other de-risking solutions—that could help address identified financing constraints.

 

Activity 3: Assess financing demand, gaps, risks, and opportunities.

• Assess the financing characteristics of priority investment needs identified under Outputs 1 and 2, including indicative financing size, borrower profile, tenor, repayment capacity, collateral constraints and risk profile, and assess their compatibility with existing financial products.

• Identify financing gaps, barriers and key credit risks affecting aquaculture and associated blue economy investments, including climate and environmental risks, disease outbreaks, market volatility, informality, collateral limitations and other factors affecting access to finance and portfolio performance.

• Develop actionable recommendations to be included into the design of the Blue Fonseca financial instrument, including suitable financial products, risk-sharing mechanisms, potential financial intermediaries, target beneficiaries and institutional arrangements.

The Consultant shall make systematic use of relevant outputs generated under Outputs 1 and 2 of the Blue Fonseca Project —including the comprehensive diagnosis, infrastructure assessment, market studies, business models, and investment plans— and shall avoid duplicating analytical work already undertaken by other project consultants. GGGI will facilitate access to relevant available project outputs and coordination with the consulting teams.

 

DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT SCHEDULE

• P1. Inception Report and Work Plan, including the refined methodology, analytical framework, stakeholder consultation plan, data requirements, coordination arrangements with other Blue Fonseca assignments, and detailed work schedule.

• P2. Financial System and Existing Financial Products Assessment, covering the relevant financial and regulatory environment, key financial institutions, sustainable finance and ESRMS/SARAS practices, existing financing products, eligibility and lending conditions, and available risk-sharing and de-risking mechanisms relevant to aquaculture and blue economy investments.

• P3. Stakeholder Consultations Summary, providing the information provided by key stakeholders regarding the current Honduran financial system, potential opportunities, barriers, and gaps to finance blue economy investments specially oriented to aquaculture and logistics infrastructure in the Gulf of Fonseca.

• P4. Financing Demand, Gaps and Risk Assessment, for priority aquaculture and associated blue economy investments identified under Outputs 1 and 2, including borrower characteristics, financing needs, compatibility with existing financial products, credit and investment risks, and key constraints affecting access to finance.

• P5. Draft Financial Market Assessment and Recommendations, integrating financial supply and demand findings and providing actionable recommendations for the design of the Blue Fonseca financial instrument, including potential target beneficiaries, financial products, risk-sharing mechanisms, financial intermediaries and institutional arrangements.

• P6. Final Financial Market Assessment, incorporating GGGI comments and stakeholder validation, and presenting the final analysis, recommendations and proposed options to inform the subsequent design and structuring of the Blue Fonseca financial instrument.

 

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