The operating company, the ZEDE and the location: the three levels of a visionary project for prosperity
By Próspera Team3 min read
When you hear about Prospera, what exactly are they talking about? Here we clarify
If you've read news stories about Prospera in recent years, you've probably seen the same word used to refer to very different things: a special zone, a private company, a physical location in Roatán... and sometimes all three at the same time.. This confusion is understandable, but it is important to clarify it because they are three things with completely different roles, responsibilities and legal natures.
ZEDE: the legal framework
The ZEDE -Employment and Economic Development Zone-. is a legal entity created by the Honduran government through the Article 329 of the Constitution and the Organic Law ZEDE of 2013. A ZEDE is not a company: it is a special legal regime, that is, a set of rules that the Honduran State authorizes to apply within a given territory, which is the ZEDE, a territorial entity similar to a municipality.
Honduras has three ZEDEs. Próspera is one of them. The rules that apply within a ZEDE are different from those that apply in the rest of the country in tax, labor, regulatory and judicial matters., The Honduran criminal law prevails in all zones, but always within the framework established by the Honduran Constitution and international treaties. Honduran criminal law prevails in all zones.
Honduras Próspera Inc.: the operating company
Honduras Próspera Inc. is the private company that acts, through a subsidiary, as a General Service Provider (GSP) within the ZEDE Próspera. Its function is administrative, providing services to other companies in the ZEDE and generating business., as well as investment attraction. It manages the digital portal, processes entity registrations, manages the insurance system and coordinates permitting, among other activities of the governance platform. It is, in simple terms, the company that operates the governance.
This company was founded in the United States and has private investors. It has a contract with the Honduran government to perform this role, through its operating subsidiary. The fact that a private company manages these services is not unique to Honduras: many countries contract private operators to manage special economic zones, ports, airports or public services.
In addition, we must differentiate between the companies operating in the ZEDE, which have been covered by its legal regime, and Honduras Próspera Inc., The company is in charge of generating this business and providing services to many of them.
Location: Roatán and La Ceiba
Próspera ZEDE has a physical presence in two locations: land on the island of Roatán, in the Honduran Caribbean, and an area in the vicinity of La Ceiba, in northern mainland Honduras: Satuyé. These are the territories where the ZEDE legal regime is applicable. Outside these limits, the ordinary laws of Honduras apply.
In Roatán there are two distinct areas: Beta District and Pristine Bay. It all constitutes a territory that is referred to as Prospera.
Why does this distinction matter?
It is important because, knowing that the innovation represented by governance as a service to generate collective prosperity is visionary and generates debate, we must combat misinformation, falsehoods and misinterpretation.