Since the mid-1990s significant investment has been attracted from some of the most important multinational firms including; Intel Corporation, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Conair and Protek; while medical device makers and pharmaceutical companies such as Abbott Laboratories, Baxter International and Medtech Group Inc are currently setting up shop and the nation is fast becoming a hub for call centers and back office outsourcing for Proctor and Gamble and Washington Mutual among others.
The high-tech industry now employs more than 30,000 people in over 300 companies and has been fundamental in helping the country to achieve sustained economic growth at around 5%, since 2002. According to recent reports on global outsourcing Costa Rica has achieved surprising stature in the high-tech world and now ranks third behind only India and China as the most competitive offshore destination. This is partly due to a recent trend known as ‘nearsourcing’ or ‘right-shoring’ that has large American firms establishing offshore facilities closer to home, both culturally and geographically, rather than looking only to Asia.
Costa Rica’s particular advantages include understanding of US business requirements, Spanish and English language skills and enforced intellectual property laws, in addition to shared time zones and short flight times from the US.
However, securing investment from Intel was the country’s biggest prize. The company chose Costa Rica as the site for its new multi-million dollar software and development plant in 1998, after a huge recruitment drive led by the Costa Rican Investment and Development Board (CINDE) and backed by then president, José Maria Figueres. It has since become the nation’s largest employer and proved fundamental in confirming the country’s comparative advantage in the region, acting as a validation that would then encourage investment from many more multinational companies.
Costa Rica’s particular advantages include understanding of US business requirements, Spanish and English language skills and enforced intellectual property laws, in addition to shared time zones and short flight times from the US.
However, securing investment from Intel was the country’s biggest prize. The company chose Costa Rica as the site for its new multi-million dollar software and development plant in 1998, after a huge recruitment drive led by the Costa Rican Investment and Development Board (CINDE) and backed by then president, José Maria Figueres. It has since become the nation’s largest employer and proved fundamental in confirming the country’s comparative advantage in the region, acting as a validation that would then encourage investment from many more multinational companies.
