Business in Costa Rica: a highly competitive market
Amidst the political and social turbulence that is invading Latin American countries, Costa Rica, as well as its economy, have been able to upstand and become one of the most stable countries in this region reaching great success at gaining foreign investment.
The country has not experienced a real and enduring economic crisis for the past twenty years, instead, it has reduced poverty to below 20% of the population and has an average economic growth rate of 2.5% each year. This means that all business in Costa Rica is safe and might be prosper.
Besides, Costa Rica has increased its participation in world trade which led to an expansion of the economy and greatly reduced its vulnerabilities to suffer a financial crisis making it reach a Gross Domestic Product per capita (GDP) of $10,882 USD.
Costa Rica is in the accession process to be part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), but as the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) was implemented, Costa Rica was quickly integrated into the world’s economy demonstrating its financial stability.
By having a huge service industry and being the most visited nation in Central America, with a world-class tourism valued in USD $1.9 billion a year, business in Costa Rica gets a relatively high expenditure per traveler. This is a growing sector in which companies already started the year with good hiring prospects.
On the other hand, this country is considered as the most innovative country in Latin America according to the Global Innovation Index 2015, as it made 568 applications for patents and more than 12,000 for brand names in registration for intellectual property as stated by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Innovation and processes like registration make this country an interesting region for starting new businesses, as well as for the security and legal incentives. That is why Costa Rica ranks third in protection of intellectual property in Latin America.
Costa Rica’s’ economy is very liquid, people spend money eating outside, shopping or searching for entertainment, costa ricans tend to save and travel, mostly in the insides of the country, expanding their knowledge and helping national finances.
This year, the country will be open to new opportunities, franchises from all over the world will enter this market and managing business in Costa Rica will be easier than ever. Stability and steady improvement make this a really competitive country, where time will only tell how an appropriate regulation in laws and permits will allow a bigger foreign investment to empower Costa Rica.
