Honduras: There is a huge gap between urban and rural areas in Honduras. Importing agricultural machinery to enhance agro-business efficiency and developing agro-products (such as avocado derivatives) and their markets are necessary for Honduras. In addition, Taiwanese enterprises and organizations have the potential to assist the rural economy by promoting the traditional and unique culture of Honduras, due to its indigenous culture, textiles, and pottery, which are attractive to international tourists.
Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis: The tourism industry is a keystone of the national development vision of St. Christopher and Nevis. However, tourism to the country is still underdeveloped. Taiwan has had a successful experience applying the cultural and creative industries to tourism over many years. Taiwanese enterprises are able to apply Taiwanese models to improve the processing techniques for agro-products and create brands with local features. In addition, they could also assist SMEs with the provision of loans or technologies.
Haiti: Charcoal is Haiti’s primary fuel, but the process of charcoal production continues to damage the forests. Even while the country’s forest coverage rate has fallen to 5%, Haitian’s still choose charcoal, causing significantly greater environmental damage, rather than using the higher-priced gas fuel. Rice is the main food crop in Haiti, and converting rice straw into biofuel is practical and has long been studied in Taiwan. It would be a remarkable and breakthrough if the techniques of converting rice straw into biomass fuels could be applied in Haiti.
Belize: Since many rural villages in Belize are far away from the main water pipelines, local water corporations are unable to extend their services to those places. However, according to the Belize National Weather Service, rainfall from June to November in Belize is enough to cover local use if a rainwater storage system is constructed in rural villages. The TaiwanICDF hopes Taiwanese enterprises and organizations can combine local infrastructure and water purification systems to improve the accessibility of clean water resources in Belize.
Saint Lucia: The TaiwanICDF is cooperating with the government of Saint Lucia on the Project for ICT in Education. However, the local primary and secondary schools as well as public libraries lack digital libraries and managerial systems, slowing the development of digital education and e-learning. Moreover, students’ written and artistic works are not effectively preserved or shared, an obstacle to the effective accumulation of experience and learning. There is a need for businesses and CSOs to find innovative solutions to these weaknesses.
Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis: The Saint Kitts and Nevis government is putting more emphasis on educational technology resources for local elementary and middle schools and is focusing especially on mathematics and applied science. By promoting informatization and digitalization, and equipping them with educational technologies and resources, the TaiwanICDF expects to help more students align with global trends and widen their horizons.
Guatemala: In Guatemala, indigenous women suffer from gender and racial inequality in work opportunities and wages. The Taiwanese enterprises and organizations could develop assistance in integrating community resources and lowering the barriers for women entrepreneurs with the provision of various gender-friendly business opportunities.
Paraguay: In response to COVID-19, Paraguay is improving digitalization among its industries. The TaiwanICDF has launched the Project to Strengthen Capacity to Support Development of MSMEs in Paraguay, in order to expand and accelerate the growth of the fashion industry and its development. The TaiwanICDF encourages Taiwanese enterprises and organizations to bring over more digital resources and virtual tools, such as virtual fitting rooms and other marketing tools for a better online consumer experience.