El Instituto Nacional de Fomento Cooperativo

What El Instituto Nacional de Fomento Cooperativo does

El Instituto Nacional de Fomento Cooperativo (INFOCOOP) is a Costa Rican public institution established on February 20, 1973, charged by statute with the promotion, development, and supervision of cooperativism under the Ley de Asociaciones Cooperativas (Law 4179). Headquartered in San José and operating the Centro de Formación La Catalina training facility, INFOCOOP delivers five integrated, free-of-charge services: Promotion (assisting groups in forming cooperatives), Technical Assistance (feasibility studies and program execution), Education and Training (courses in doctrine, administration, accounting, and management), Financing (credit at favorable rates), and Supervision (regulatory auditing and compliance with cooperative law).

The institution's customer base spans the full cooperative spectrum in Costa Rica, including traditional, self-management (autogestión), co-management (cogestión), savings and credit, and school/youth cooperatives, with the IV National Cooperative Census (2012) recording 594 active cooperatives, 869,843 adult members, and 26,492 minor members. INFOCOOP's model is non-commercial: it generates no fee-based revenue, is funded entirely through the Costa Rican government budget, and distributes services both from its central office and via Promotion Department outreach to communities, including underserved indigenous and women-entrepreneur segments. The organization is staffed by approximately 100-150 employees across 11 gerencias and is currently executing an integral restructuring initiated in 2023 alongside an ongoing modernization of its organizational chart and leadership team.

Name

El Instituto Nacional de Fomento Cooperativo

Legal name

Instituto Nacional de Fomento Cooperativo

Website

https://infocoop.go.cr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San José

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Budget Funding: INFOCOOP is a public institution funded by the Costa Rican government budget. The institution does not charge any fees for its services as it is a state entity mandated to promote and develop cooperativism. Services provided include technical assistance, education, financing, promotion, and supervision of cooperatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

INFOCOOP is a Costa Rican public institution that delivers a unified portfolio of free services to promote and develop the cooperative movement: Promotion (helping groups form cooperatives), Technical Assistance (feasibility studies, program execution, evaluation), Education and Training (cooperative doctrine, administration, accounting, management), Financing (credit at favorable interest rates), and Supervision (audit and compliance with the Ley de Asociaciones Cooperativas). All services are provided free of charge through central office operations, the Centro de Formación La Catalina training facility, and community outreach.

Product overview

INFOCOOP is a government institution offering a unified portfolio of services to promote and develop the cooperative movement in Costa Rica. The core offerings consist of five integrated services: Promotion (assisting groups in forming cooperatives), Technical Assistance (supporting feasibility studies and program execution), Education and Training (courses on cooperative doctrine and management), Financing (credit at favorable rates), and Supervision (ensuring compliance with cooperative law). These services collectively support cooperatives from formation through operation, with the Centro de Formación La Catalina serving as the primary training facility for capacity building programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Promoción (Promotion)

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• ILO Cooperative Branch (COOP): International Labour Organization unit that promotes cooperatives globally through policy advice, research, and capacity-building. Comparable to INFOCOOP's promotional and educational mandate, but at international policy level rather than as a national regulator.
• Mondragon Corporation: Global federation of worker cooperatives headquartered in Spain. Comparable to INFOCOOP's stakeholder model in promoting cooperative enterprise, though operating as a private cooperative federation rather than a state development institution.
• CAF (Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina y el Caribe): Latin American development bank that finances cooperative and SME initiatives in the region. Comparable to INFOCOOP's financing function in providing capital to cooperatives, though operating across multiple countries and at much larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• DGRV (Deutscher Genossenschafts- und Raiffeisenverband): German cooperative and Raiffeisen confederation that provides auditing, consulting, and training to cooperatives worldwide. Comparable to INFOCOOP's combined supervisory, advisory, and training role but at an international scale with a broader audit mandate.
• International Cooperative Alliance (ICA): The global apex body for cooperatives, providing principles, advocacy, and capacity-building support across member organizations. Comparable to INFOCOOP as a sector-wide promoter and standard-setter, but operating globally rather than as a national regulator.
• OCB (Organização das Cooperativas Brasileiras): Brazilian cooperative organization representing and promoting cooperatives across multiple sectors. Comparable to INFOCOOP's role in promoting and supervising cooperatives, but operating at a much larger scale across Brazil's economy.

Direct peers

• Cooperatives UK: UK trade association for cooperatives, providing advocacy, training, and member services. Comparable to INFOCOOP's mixed promotional, training, and advisory mandate, though without INFOCOOP's explicit regulatory/supervisory authority.
• Confecoop (Confederación Colombiana de Cooperativas): Colombian cooperative confederation that promotes and represents cooperative enterprises. Most directly comparable to INFOCOOP as a Latin American institutional promoter and representative of the cooperative sector in a single country.
• Confederación Nacional de Cooperativas del Ecuador: Ecuadorian cooperative confederation providing representation, training, and sector support. Comparable to INFOCOOP's role in a single Latin American country as a cooperative promoter and representative body.
• NCBA CLUSA (National Cooperative Business Association): US national cooperative business association that advocates for and supports cooperative development across sectors. Comparable to INFOCOOP in promoting, educating, and advocating for cooperative enterprises, though operating in a different national context.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/INFOCOOP
• Facebookfacebook.com/infocoop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/instituto-nacional-de-fomento-cooperativo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about El Instituto Nacional de Fomento Cooperativo