Why Costa Rica?

Costa Rica Green and Smart

 
Costa Rica is an important international provider of innovative and high value added information and communication technology products and services; a center of convergence with local and international linkages in an ecologically friendly, democratic, and safe environment.

Costa Rica's IT industry is favoured by several conditions that promote the attraction of investments and the companies development:

• Strategic location: Proximity to North and South America
• Time zone +- 2 hours from the main cities of the continent
• Political and economic stability
• Friendly environment and low risk to attract businesses
• Excellent quality of life
• Attractive investment incentives
• Strong telecommunications infrastructure
• Important companies are already established in Costa Rica such as: Intel, Oracle, IBM, HP, Sykes, Microsoft, among others
• Diversification of exports and low dependency on traditional production
• IT products and services are not subject of limitations of distance or transportation
• Well-educated, creative, innovative, English-speaking and highly productive human resource
  

Costa Rica has technical and superior education institutions that generate qualified human resource, such as:

• Technical high-schools
• Private and public universities
• National Learning Institute (INA for its initials in Spanish)
• CEFOF
• CENFOTEC
  

50% of the elementary schools and all high-schools have computer labs and receive English lessons. This allows children and teenagers to learn the language and computer skills at a very early age.

Recognitions:

During the last years Costa Rica is proudly positioned in the top places of international indicators such as:

• The World Economic Forum's Networked Readiness Index 2006-2007, ranked Costa Rica as one of the most connected countries in Latin America after Chile, Brazil and Mexico.
• The Economist Intelligence Unit, Liveability Rankings 2005 positioned San José among the cities in Latin America with the highest levels in quality of life.
• The World Economic Forum listed Costa Rica as the 3rd most competitive country in Latin America in 2006.
• The United Nations Human Development Report 2006 indicates that Costa Rica is the 5th top high-technology exporter in the world.
• Costa Rica occupies the 3rd spot in the Global Outsourcing Report 2005, Going Global Ventures Inc., New York, after India and China, taking the United States as an entry gate.