CINDE

Name

CINDE

Legal name

Asociación Coalición Costarricense de Iniciativas de Desarrollo

Website

https://cinde.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Promotion Services

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Investment Promotion & FDI Facilitation (BPADAMAD)

Keywords

• Investment promotion services
• Foreign direct investment
• Site selection advisory
• Free trade zones
• Talent development programs

Headquarters

HQ city

San José

HQ country

Costa Rica

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues and Organizational Support: CINDE is a private, non-profit, apolitical organization. It operates as a membership-based association (Asociación) funded by dues from member organizations and strategic partnerships. Its services to investors are provided at no direct cost, subsidized by membership contributions and institutional partnerships.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

CINDE is a private, non-profit investment promotion agency that advises multinational corporations on establishing, installing, and expanding operations in Costa Rica. Its services span the full FDI cycle: site-selection advisory, installation support (permits, free trade zone regime, real estate), and retention/expansion consulting, complemented by talent-matching programs that connect investors with Costa Rica's multilingual workforce. Services to investors are provided free of charge, funded by membership dues from member organizations.

Product overview

CINDE operates as a unified investment promotion and business development service rather than a software product platform. The organization offers three interconnected service areas: Investment Advisory (consulting from site selection through operations), Installation Process (full-service setup and configuration support), and Investment Retention/Expansion (reinvestment and operational support). Supporting these core services are talent initiatives including CINDE Jobs, CINDE Jobs Advanced (specialized hiring format), EPI Talent (interactive education center), and Tools for Success+ (talent development program with 5,000+ beneficiaries). CINDE promotes Costa Rica's investment ecosystem across three key sectors: Knowledge-Intensive Services, Smart Manufacturing, and Health & Wellbeing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Investment Advisory Specialized consulting from site selection through installation and operational phases in Costa Rica, including detailed presentations on investment opportunities, reliable business climate information, and coordination of meetings with foreign companies, potential suppliers, government institutions, and academia. Targeted at multinational corporations evaluating FDI.
• Installation Process Support Full-service support during setup and configuration, including a roadmap and installation schedule, step-by-step permit and licensing assistance (migration, free trade zone regime), a vetted list of 80+ service providers, real estate selection assistance, and communications strategy support for official announcements.
• Investment Retention and Expansion Services Advisory on reinvestment opportunities to expand, diversify, and sophisticate company operations in Costa Rica, including tactical problem resolution for licenses, permits, and regulatory procedures, connections with service providers, and facilitation of collaboration among established firms, regulators, and academia.
• CINDE Jobs Advanced Specialized employment matching event/platform where candidates pre-qualify with verified English proficiency above B2 level and proven work experience, and receive pre-confirmed interview agendas with participating multinational companies. Targeted at multinational employers and qualified local talent.
• CINDE Jobs Job fair and employment platform connecting multinational companies operating in Costa Rica with qualified local talent across services, technology, and manufacturing sectors. Includes career studies, skills demand data, and direct job matching services.
• EPI Talent (Center for Interactive Education) Center for Interactive Education initiative designed to prepare Costa Rican human talent for leading multinational companies through interactive education programs aligned to industry demand.
• Tools for Success+ Talent development program that has benefited over 5,000 students across 17 generations, promoting inclusive and quality education that drives Costa Rican human talent toward employability for future jobs with multinational employers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 430+ multinational companies established in Costa Rica since 1982, with 400+ and 450+ figures also cited in recent sources.
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers71 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Health & Tech Prime PartnersflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth & Tech Prime Partners is a grouping of six strategic service providers serving the Life Sciences and Advanced Manufacturing sectors in Costa Rica. Members include Enhanced Compliance Inc. (ECI), Grupo Vargas, Inventory and Distribution Services (IDS), Microbiología y Calidad Industrial (MCI), OPIA Operaciones e Ingeniería de Avanzada, and Electrotécnica. These partners provide comprehensive solutions across the full project lifecycle for MedTech companies operating in Costa Rica, and they co-host the Life Sciences Forum with CINDE as the central event for FDI attraction in the sector.
• Free Trade ZonescoreOthersCINDE works with Costa Rica's Free Trade Zone regime as a key investment incentive mechanism. Partner Free Trade Zones include Ultrapark I and others, offering fiscal incentives and infrastructure to qualifying multinational investors. CINDE facilitates connections between investors and free zone operators as part of its site-selection and installation services.
• Strategic AlliescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCINDE maintains a network of Strategic Allies — a curated list of over 80 service providers and institutional partners that support multinational investors throughout the installation and operational phases. These allies include legal firms, accounting firms, real estate providers, HR agencies, logistics companies, and consulting firms that have been vetted by CINDE for quality and reliability.
• ULACIT (Universidad Latinoamericana de Ciencia y Tecnología)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerULACIT is an academic partner contributing to talent development for Costa Rica's life sciences and advanced manufacturing sectors. Luis Güell, Dean of Advanced Manufacturing Engineering at ULACIT, participated in the Life Sciences Forum 2026, emphasizing the connection between academia and industry in preparing engineers aligned to international standards.
• FedExminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFedEx serves as a logistics partner for Costa Rica's medical device export ecosystem. Basil Khalil, VP of Operations for FedEx Caribbean and Central America, participated in the Life Sciences Forum 2026, discussing the role of logistics in maintaining supply chain integrity for temperature-sensitive medical device exports.
• Rising CitiesminorOthersCINDE's Rising Cities initiative identifies and promotes secondary cities in Costa Rica as emerging investment destinations, supporting geographic diversification of FDI beyond the Greater San José metropolitan area. This includes cities like Pérez Zeledón where tech hubs like Helm360 have expanded.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• IDA Ireland: Ireland's national investment promotion agency, directly comparable in mission: attracting and supporting foreign multinational investment across MedTech, tech, and services. IDA is the global gold-standard IPA and the most direct functional peer to CINDE.
• Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB): Singapore's investment promotion authority, performing the same FDI attraction, investor servicing, and aftercare role as CINDE but at much larger global scale. Comparable in targeting MNC site selection for high-value manufacturing and services.
• ProColombia: Colombia's investment promotion agency, performing a near-identical Latin American FDI attraction and export promotion mandate as CINDE. Comparable in sector focus (manufacturing, services, agribusiness) and emerging-market positioning.
• InvestChile: Chile's foreign investment promotion agency, a close regional peer to CINDE in attracting multinational investment and providing site-selection and aftercare services. Comparable in Latin American context and priority sector strategy.
• PROCOMER (Costa Rica): Costa Rica's export promotion agency, complementing CINDE's FDI attraction role within the same country. Compares as a peer government-affiliated economic development agency focused on trade and investment promotion.
• SelectUSA: The U.S. federal investment promotion program within the Department of Commerce, performing global FDI attraction and facilitation — directly analogous to CINDE but at country scale. Comparable in targeting multinational site selection.
• Invest in Canada: Canada's federal investment promotion agency, attracting foreign investment into priority sectors and providing site-selection and aftercare support analogous to CINDE. Comparable in mandate and consultative, relationship-driven GTM motion.
• UK Department for Business and Trade: The UK government's investment promotion arm, performing FDI attraction, investor relationship management, and aftercare services. Comparable in mission and outreach to multinational leadership for site selection decisions.
• JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization): Japan's government-affiliated trade and investment promotion organization. Performs the same FDI attraction mandate as CINDE and offers similar free advisory support to multinational investors considering Japan as a destination.
• Invest in Spain (ICEX): Spain's investment promotion division under ICEX, providing end-to-end FDI advisory and aftercare services to multinationals — a direct functional analog to CINDE's investment advisory and retention services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/invest_cr
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/InvestInCostaRica/featured
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cinde

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CINDE