Tuesday, June 17, 2014

A Critical Look Into The Businesses In Belize

By Ina Hunt


The two major business enterprises in Belize are tourism and agriculture. As a result, most people who carry out businesses in Belize are based around these two. The citizens of the country mainly work in the fishing and sugarcane sectors. In tourism, large companies are controlled by people who are non residents. Other sectors are not well developed and so this is a great opportunity for investors.

In Central America, it is one of the nations that attracts the largest number of tourists. This has seen a large investment boom in the catering industry. A lot of enterprises have now focused on this particular aspect in the tourism industry. Lots of hotels, resorts, villas, homes and hostels are providing a variety of accommodation options. Along the beach in San Pedro, there are numerous hotels and resorts that offer professional services along with a view of a really beautiful scenery.

A lot of business opportunities are in the agricultural sector.Production of crops like citrus, rice and bananas has been done greatly enhanced. In recent times, chocolate and papaya have been sold in foreign markets such as the US. However, a lot of this produce is consumed locally. Rojo market is one of the major retail markets where such products can be found and mostly targets the tourists. Despite all this, the agricultural sector still has potential to grow since large tracts of land still remain underutilized.

Other industries are also growing and emerging rapidly. Such industries include the call centre industry as well as the entertainment sector and are emerging opportunities to carry out business.

There are also businesses in the transport and logistics sector. One of the largest of these is owned by the novel brothers. Their business offers transport and commuter services in various districts. The other players in the transport industry are small enterprises that are also privately owned. They operate other routes around the country.

The area of telecommunication is controlled by two companies. Belize Telemedia dominates the communication sector with the government being the largest share holder. The company employs more than five hundred Belizeans. Speednet communications limited has also been a major player in telecommunication industry since its inception in 2003.

Television and radio stations have attracted private investors, who have been instrumental in the development of the media. They show local programs, which help in developing the local film industry. Apart from that, they also air American and Caribbean produced shows. Other media businesses like newspapers are controlled by individual persons.

The country has got eight banks, four of which are local with the rest being international. The main banks are British Caribbean bank, formerly called Belize bank, and Central Bank of Belize. These institutions are greatly involved in provision of credit services such as bank overdrafts, loans and lines of credit. This is beneficial to businesses.

Small and micro enterprises make up most of the enterprises in Belize, accounting for close to ninety percent of all the enterprises in the country.Most of them belong to families, relatives or close friends.There are therefore great opportunities for people like retirees who would love a peaceful environment to start a business.




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