CONAPE

What CONAPE does

CONAPE (Comisión Nacional de Préstamos para la Educación) is a Costa Rican state institution that provides subsidized educational credit to individuals pursuing higher and technical education. Founded in 1964 (with operating history extending through 1970 and beyond per company history records) and headquartered in San Pedro de Montes de Oca with a regional office in Pérez Zeledón, the organization employs 51-100 staff and serves Costa Rican students pursuing short courses, technical programs, bachelor's and licenciatura degrees, graduate studies, and international study programs in over 50 countries. Loan servicing runs through an Oracle APEX-based online platform ("CONAPE en Línea"), native iOS/Android/Huawei mobile applications, WhatsApp channels (general and collections), a call center (2527-8600), and in-person appointments at headquarters and the regional branch, with disbursements routed through Banco de Costa Rica as the mandated banking partner.

The institution's product set is structured along the educational lifecycle: financing tiers span short courses, técnicos/diplomados (max ₡19,769,400), combined bachelor+licenciatura (max ₡29,654,000), graduate studies (max ₡36,000,000), plus modular add-ons (equipment financing, loan expansion, no-guarantor salaried loans) and the Fondo de Avales guarantee program for vulnerable and indigenous populations. Standard public-university loans carry a 4.5% annual interest rate, explicitly characterized in source materials as the lowest in the Costa Rican market, with study periods up to 9 years and post-graduation repayment windows up to 14 years, plus a 2% credit commission on disbursements and a debtor-balance insurance policy (Póliza de Saldo Deudor).

Revenue derives primarily from interest on educational loans and the 2% credit commission, with supplemental income from debtor-balance insurance arrangements. CONAPE partners strategically with CINDE (Future+ platform), APICE (international study pathways in Canada/Spain/USA), Universidad Latina, and Universidad Americana to extend reach, while maintaining a price-subsidy model that depends on government capital backing rather than market-rate return targets. As a non-profit state entity under Costa Rican public-administration law, CONAPE is not listed, not venture-backed, and does not publicly disclose financial statements, with full transparency including credit placements and audited states available only through mandatory government reporting channels.

Name

CONAPE

Legal name

CONAPE

Website

https://conape.go.cr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

CONAPE is a Costa Rican state institution offering subsidized educational loans for short courses, technical programs, undergraduate, and graduate studies, serving individual students domestically and across 50+ countries at 4.5% annual interest.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Lending

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111), State Commercial Banks (6022)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Loan Refinance & Consolidation (FSAKAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Student Loan Intermediation & Refinancing (FSAEAEAL), Financial Aid Administration & Packaging (EDALAJAA), Loans & Financing for International Study (EDAIAOAL)

Keywords

• Educational student loans
• Higher education financing
• Government student lending
• Technical education credit
• Graduate study loans

Headquarters

HQ city

San Pedro De Montes De Oca

HQ country

Costa Rica

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Educational Loan Interest: CONAPE generates revenue through interest charged on educational loans. Public university loans carry a 4.5% annual interest rate, considered the lowest in the market. Interest accrues during the study period and repayment begins after graduation.
2. Credit Commission: A 2% credit commission is charged on the disbursed loan amount, covering administrative costs associated with loan processing and disbursement.
3. Insurance (Póliza de Saldo Deudor): Loans are covered by a debtor balance insurance policy that protects the outstanding debt, providing additional revenue stream through insurance arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CONAPE (Comisión Nacional de Préstamos para la Educación) is a Costa Rican state institution that provides educational loans to students pursuing higher and technical education. It offers financing for short courses, technical/diploma programs, undergraduate degrees, graduate studies, and international education, along with specialized products such as no-guarantor loans, a guarantee fund for underserved populations, and equipment financing. Loans are distributed at subsidized rates with extended repayment terms through online, mobile, and in-person channels.

Product overview

CONAPE is a Costa Rican government institution offering a unified educational loan platform (CONAPE en línea) that provides financing for various levels of education including short courses, technical programs, undergraduate degrees, and graduate programs. The core offering consists of student loans for public and private universities, with specialized products including no-guarantor loans (Préstamo sin Fiador), a guarantee fund (Fondo de Avales) for underserved populations, equipment financing, and international study loans. Additional services include a mobile app for iOS and Android, an online quota calculator, and loan expansion options for existing borrowers. The platform is accessible online and offers virtual and in-person appointment scheduling for disbursements and contract signing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Préstamos para Cursos Cortos Educational loans available for short courses, language courses, certifications, and bootcamps for adults and youth aged 15 and older; no high school diploma required for enrollment.
• Préstamos para Técnicos y Diplomados

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.5% annual interest rate - lowest in the Costa Rican market for educational loans
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CINDEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 March 2023CONAPE and CINDE signed a cooperation agreement to finance courses registered on the Future+ platform, providing high employability courses certified by CINDE (Coalition for Investment and Business Development of Costa Rica).
• APICEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 May 2022APICE offers, in alliance with foreign educational institutions, undergraduate and graduate studies. Programs include pre-bachelor's and graduate degrees in Canada, virtual master's programs with scholarship options from Spain, and certified virtual courses from Spain and the United States in areas including Finance, Marketing, Sales, Management, Human Resources, Quality Assurance, and engineering/architecture/energy/infrastructure.
• Universidad Latina de Costa RicaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 December 2020Mutual cooperation agreement between U Latina and CONAPE to provide preferential conditions and streamlined processes for students seeking financing for their educational programs.
• Universidad Americana (UAM)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 December 2020Mutual cooperation agreement between UAM and CONAPE to facilitate student access to educational financing for programs at Universidad Americana.
• Banco de Costa RicacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBanco de Costa Rica is the designated banking partner required for loan disbursements. Students must have an active savings account in colones at BCR to receive loan disbursements and to complete the online loan application.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• SoFi: U.S. fintech with student loan refinancing and private education loans. Comparable on the student-lending refinancing tier; relevant as a benchmark for digital-first student-loan experience that could pressure CONAPE's UX.
• Sallie Mae: U.S. private student-loan incumbent with broad product portfolio (undergraduate, graduate, refinance). Comparable on product structure and student-lending specialization, though operating in a different (U.S.) regulatory and competitive context than CONAPE.

Others

• Banco de Costa Rica (BCR): CONAPE's designated banking partner for disbursements and required colones savings account. Comparable as Costa Rica's state commercial bank; relevant ecosystem participant because of the operational dependency CONAPE has on BCR's deposit infrastructure.

Emerging players

• Prodigy Finance: Cross-border student lender for international master's and MBA programs. Overlaps with CONAPE's international graduate financing (posgrados) but operates with different underwriting (future-income based) and targets a different tier of programs.
• MPOWER Financing: Private fintech lender focused on international student loans without cosigners, targeting students studying abroad (including in U.S./Canada). Overlaps with CONAPE's international study program and 'Préstamo sin Fiador' product, but operates as a private digital alternative.

Direct peers

• ICETEX (Colombia): Colombian state student-loan agency offering financing for higher education domestically and abroad. Closest functional analog to CONAPE: government-backed, multi-tier product set (technical through graduate), with inclusion programs and international study support.
• Fondo Nacional del Ahorro (FNA, Colombia): Colombian state entity providing education credit and housing savings. Comparable as a regional Latin American government-backed credit institution with a defined social-mission mandate around education and household credit access.
• IFEC (Mexico): Mexico's federal institution supporting educational financing. Functions as a state-affiliated student loan entity for Mexican students pursuing higher education, parallel to CONAPE's role in Costa Rica with similar subsidized mandate and target borrower profile.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CONAPECR

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 CONAPE