Unión Nacional de Gobiernos Locales

What Unión Nacional de Gobiernos Locales does

Unión Nacional de Gobiernos Locales (UNGL) is a Costa Rican non-profit association founded in 1977 that represents and serves all 84 municipal governments (Concejos Municipales) across the country's seven provinces. Headquartered in San José, the organization operates as the unified national voice of Costa Rican local government, providing policy advocacy, legislative representation, technical assistance, capacity-building training, and coordination of intermunicipal projects. It is organized into five executive directions (Ejecutiva, Financiera, Técnica de Tecnología, Innovación y Mejora Continua, Seguimiento Estratégico de Proyectos y Cooperación Internacional, and Incidencia Política y Comunicaciones) and coordinates seven thematic municipal networks spanning planning, communications, culture, women's affairs, police, and supplier procurement.

UNGL's core programmatic offerings include the EU-funded mUEve sustainable urban mobility project operating across 15 cantons in the Gran Área Metropolitana, the BID/INDER-supported EcoMetrópoli regional solid waste management initiative uniting 9 municipalities, and a portfolio of digital tools (Índice CIS, Calculadora de Empleo Público, Observatorio Municipal, Gestión Integral de Residuos Sólidos, Agenda Municipal, and the AI-powered UNGLito chatbot for querying the Codigo Municipal). The organization's business model is non-commercial: it is sustained by membership dues from its 84 municipal members and, more substantially, by international cooperation project financing from multilateral lenders (EU, BID, CAF), bilateral development agencies (AFD, PNUD, US Embassy/INL), and foundations (Fundación CRUSA, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung). UNGL serves as implementing partner for large-scale intermunicipal initiatives, with no commercial pricing and no equity investors.

Name

Unión Nacional de Gobiernos Locales

Legal name

Unión Nacional de Gobiernos Locales

Website

https://www.ungl.or.cr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Unión Nacional de Gobiernos Locales (UNGL) is a Costa Rican non-profit association, founded in 1977, that represents and provides capacity-building, technical assistance, and project coordination services to all 84 municipal governments across the country's seven provinces, funded by member dues and international cooperation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

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, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Member dues and institutional contributions: UNGL operates as a non-profit association sustained by membership dues and institutional contributions from member municipal governments, in alignment with Costa Rica's Código Municipal. The organization also generates revenue through the delivery of technical assistance services, training programs, and capacity-building workshops to municipal clients.
2. International cooperation and project financing: A significant portion of UNGL's operational and programmatic activities are funded through international cooperation agreements and project financing from multilateral organizations (EU, BID, CAF), development agencies (AFD, PNUD), and foreign governments (Embassy of the United States/INL), channeled through project agreements such as mUEve (EU-funded) and Ecometrópoli (BID/INDER-funded).

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

UNGL is a non-profit national association representing all 84 municipal governments of Costa Rica, providing advocacy, technical assistance, training, and capacity-building services. It coordinates inter-municipal projects such as the EU-funded mUEve sustainable urban mobility initiative across 15 cantons, the EcoMetrópoli regional solid waste management program, and a portfolio of digital tools including the UNGLito AI chatbot for the Municipal Code.

Product overview

Unión Nacional de Gobiernos Locales (UNGL) is a national association of Costa Rican local governments that offers a portfolio of digital tools, programs, and services for municipal modernization. The core offerings include UNGLito (an AI-powered Municipal Code chatbot), the mUEve sustainable mobility project (DUOT-focused urban development across 15 cantons), EcoMetrópoli (regional solid waste management), and various digital tools including municipal indices, employment calculators, and waste management systems. Additionally, UNGL provides networking services through municipal networks (police, culture, planning, suppliers, communications, women's offices), the Lab-DUOT laboratory program, and international cooperation projects. The organization serves as an umbrella entity representing and supporting Costa Rica's 84 municipal governments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• mUEve: Sustainable urban mobility project working with 15 cantons in the Greater Metropolitan Area, funded by the European Union, focused on transit-oriented development, pedestrian infrastructure, and sustainable transportation.
• Ecometrópoli
• EcoMetrópoli

Products and services

• UNGLito
• mUEve (Movilidad Sostenible, Urbanismo, Equipamiento, Valoración del Espacio Público, y Enverdecimiento y Equidad)
• EcoMetrópoli
• Redes Municipales (Municipal Networks)
• Lab-DUOT (Laboratorio de Desarrollo Urbano Orientado al Transporte)
• Sembremos Seguridad
• Proyecto INTERLACE
• Cooperación Técnica Regional No Reembolsable
• Promoción de las Políticas Locales de Juventud

Quantifiable outcome

• 84 municipalities coordinated nationwide
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Instituto de Fomento y Asesoría Municipal (IFAM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Member of the technical team for the Bandera Azul Ecológica program (categoría municipalidades), contributing to the coordination of environmental awards for local governments alongside UNGL, AYA, and DIGECA.
• Área Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026AMB is a key international strategic partner, providing expertise on metropolitan governance, public space recovery, and urban planning. Experts Albert Gassull and Maria Peix conducted a high-level exchange on 'Recuperación de Espacios Públicos y Gobernanza Metropolitana' with Costa Rican mayors. AMB also shared gender-equity planning models for cities and participated in the III Congreso Iberoamericano de Áreas Metropolitanas as co-organizer.
• Ente Metropolitano de Córdoba (Argentina)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Partner in the III Congreso Iberoamericano de Áreas Metropolitanas and co-signer of the Manifiesto por el Fortalecimiento de la Gobernanza Metropolitana en Costa Rica. Coordinator Mónica Zalazar shared Córdoba's intermunicipal governance model of 27 cities working jointly on metropolitan public policies.
• Pacto Global de Alcaldes y Alcaldesas por el Clima y la Energía (GCoM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Partner in addressing climate challenges at the III Congreso Iberoamericano de Áreas Metropolitanas, providing technical guidance for climate action and resilience in Costa Rican municipalities.
• Embajada de Estados UnidoscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Partner in organizing the forum 'Voces de Igualdad: Desafíos y Avances en Normativa de Género' commemorating the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, with participation from government authorities and gender experts.
• Fondo Nacional de Financiamiento Forestal (FONAFIFO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026FONAFIFO partnered with UNGL to conduct six regional workshops across Costa Rica on sustainable development financing, environmental financing, water resource protection, and biodiversity conservation. The collaboration brought investment opportunities directly to local governments in six regions: GAM, Zona Norte, Pacífico Central, Pacífico Sur, Guanacaste, and Atlántico.
• Fundación Banco Ambiental (FUNBAM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Co-organizer with FONAFIFO and UNGL of the six regional sustainable development workshops, focusing on environmental financing, water protection, and biodiversity conservation for municipal governments.
• INCAE Business SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026INCAE conducted a national mapping of water and sanitation investment projects for municipal governments, hosting a national encounter at its Walter Kissling Gam campus in Alajuela. The school's Centro Latinoamericano para la Competitividad y el Desarrollo Sostenible provided research and analysis.
• Fundación AvinacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Partner in the national water and sanitation initiative with INCAE and CONAFLU, supporting the mapping of investment projects and co-organizing the national encounter with over 20 municipal governments.
• Confederación Nacional de Federaciones, Ligas y Uniones de Acueductos Comunales (CONAFLU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Partner in the national water and sanitation investment initiative, providing expertise on communal aqueduct management and collaborating on the mapping project with INCAE, AVINA, and AFD funding.
• Universidad Libre de Costa Rica (ULICORI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Signed a cooperation agreement with UNGL to implement a crime prevention model based on urban planning and applied criminology. Pilot programs will be developed in Goicoechea and Alajuelita using CPTED principles and territorial criminological analysis.
• Federación Metropolitana de Municipalidades (FEMETROM)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2026Partner federation representing metropolitan municipalities; participated in the digital infrastructure forum alongside UNGL, with director Gilberto Monge emphasizing that closing the digital divide is building democracy.
• Consejo Nacional de Capacitación Municipal (CONACAM)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Co-organizer of the III Congreso Iberoamericano de Áreas Metropolitanas and partner in presenting the Prototype Regulation for Comités Cantonales de Deportes, Recreación y Vida Saludable (CCDR), working to strengthen sports management at the municipal level.
• Fundación para la Capacitación y Liderazgo para Gobiernos y Cuerpos Legislativos (FUCALI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner in organizing the 15th Technical Mission 'Experiencia Municipios Costa Rica 2025', facilitating international exchange with municipal governments from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Ecuador.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Confederação Nacional de Municípios (CNM): Brazil's national municipal association representing all 5,500+ Brazilian municipalities. CNM is the closest direct peer to UNGL in scale, mandate and operating model (membership-based association, technical assistance, advocacy at federal level) and provides a useful comparator for UNGL's long-term growth ceiling.
• Federación Colombiana de Municipios (FCM): Colombia's national federation of municipalities, providing capacity building, technical assistance and representation to more than 1,100 municipal governments. Direct peer: same non-profit membership association model serving an entire country's local governments.
• Asociación Nacional de Alcaldes de México (ANAC): National association of Mexican mayors providing advocacy, training and inter-municipal coordination across Mexico's 2,400+ municipios. Comparable non-profit trade-association model for sub-national governments in a Latin American country.
• Asociación de Municipalidades del Ecuador (AME): Ecuador's national association representing all 221 GADs (municipal governments), with parallel advocacy, capacity-building and international-cooperation functions. Closely comparable mandate and governance structure to UNGL.
• Asociación Chilena de Municipalidades (ACHM): Chile's national municipal association, representing Chilean communes with policy advocacy, training and inter-municipal services. Comparable membership-based national association structure serving sub-national governments.
• Federación Argentina de Municipios (FAM): Argentina's national federation of municipalities, providing a national voice for Argentine local governments and capacity-building programs. Direct structural peer with same non-profit trade-association mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Unión de Ciudades Capitales Iberoamericanas (UCCI): Ibero-American network of capital cities, including San José, with which UNGL co-organizes events. Broader, more established international municipal cooperation forum overlapping with UNGL's international-partnership and technical-mission activities.

Regional players

• Federación Metropolitana de Municipalidades (FEMETROM): UNGL's Costa Rican sister federation representing metropolitan municipalities, co-participating in digital-infrastructure forums and policy advocacy. Regional (sub-national Costa Rican) federation operating in the same domestic space as UNGL.

Others

• Federación de Concejos Municipales de Distrito (FECOMUDI): Costa Rican federation of district municipal councils that collaborates with UNGL on intermunicipal coordination. Adjacent enabling organization in the same domestic Costa Rican local-government ecosystem rather than a direct competitor.

Emerging players

• Instituto de Fomento y Asesoría Municipal (IFAM): Costa Rica's public municipal development institute, partnering with UNGL on the Bandera Azul Ecológica program and other capacity-building initiatives. Public-sector complement that shares UNGL's capacity-building mission for Costa Rican cantons.

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UNGL_CR
• Facebookfacebook.com/UNGLmunicipalidades
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ungl-costa-rica

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Unión Nacional de Gobiernos Locales