COSPAE

What COSPAE does

COSPAE (Consejo del Sector Privado para la Asistencia Educacional) is a Panama-based nonprofit founded in 1984 to coordinate private-sector support for education, workforce development, and youth employability. It serves young people in training, private companies, educational institutions, and government partners, with a reported headcount of 1-10. Its operating model combines in-person vocational training and scholarships with digital participant management, orientation, and labor-intermediation tools.

Learning for Life provides approximately 370 hours of hospitality training per participant, including technical English, customer service, mixology, life skills, professional practice, and placement support; approximately 2,000 young people have benefited and the latest cohort reported a 67% placement rate. The broader portfolio includes En Serio Panama, Equip Youth, Impulso al Empleo Joven, Passport to Success, Dual Formation, Soy Mujer Electricista, and Smashed. Its technology layer includes CoSPAE Digital, CONECTA for connecting young people, companies, and training institutions, EDUCA for scholarship-cycle and beneficiary management, and Marca tu Rumbo for vocational guidance among people aged 15-24.

COSPAE does not disclose annual revenue. Its operating funds come from corporate donations and scholarships, individual donations, and grants from international organizations and development agencies such as USAID and IYF. Learning for Life is free to participants and relies on partner facilities, instructors, professional-practice opportunities, and employer placement, making institutional partnerships central to delivery rather than a conventional transactional pricing model.

Name

COSPAE

Legal name

Consejo del Sector Privado para la Asistencia Educacional

Website

https://cospae.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

COSPAE is a Panama-based nonprofit that coordinates education, vocational training, and youth-employment programs linking young people, employers, and educational institutions. It offers training, scholarships, and digital tools for orientation, beneficiary management, and labor intermediation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Workforce Development and Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Other Technical and Trade Schools (611519)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Study Skills, Executive Function & Academic Coaching (Small-Group) (EDANAHAC), Education, Skills & Workforce Development Aid Programs (BPADABAE), University-Sponsored International Internships & Co-op Placements (EDAIAFAB)

Keywords

• Youth employability programs
• Workforce development training
• Scholarship management platform
• Vocational orientation services
• Private sector education coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Panama, Panama

HQ country

Panama

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Donations and Scholarships: COSPAE receives donations from companies who use the scholarship program as a corporate social responsibility incentive for their employees or as a program for residents in their area of impact. Companies contribute to fund educational scholarships for young students.
2. International Development Grants: Funding from international organizations and development agencies such as USAID and IYF to support educational and employability programs for youth in Panama.
3. Individual Donations: Public donations from individuals who wish to support the organization's mission of reducing school dropout and improving education in Panama.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

COSPAE coordinates Panamanian private-sector efforts to improve education and youth employability. It delivers workforce training programs (such as Learning for Life hospitality training, Equip Youth, Passport to Success, Dual Formation, and Soy Mujer Electricista) and operates proprietary digital platforms — CONECTA, EDUCA, and Marca tu Rumbo — that connect young job seekers with employers, manage scholarship cycles, and provide vocational orientation. Programs are funded through corporate donations, individual giving, and international development grants, and delivered free of charge to youth participants aged roughly 14-30.

Product overview

COSPAE offers a portfolio of workforce development programs and digital platforms focused on youth employability in Panama. The core programs include Learning for Life (hospitality industry training with 370 hours of formation and 67% job placement) and En Serio Panama (educational continuity). These are supported by digital platforms: CoSPAE Digital serves as the overarching digital hub, while CONECTA manages talent development and labor intermediation, EDUCA handles scholarship cycle management, and Marca tu Rumbo provides vocational orientation. Additional programs address specific workforce needs including Equip Youth (pedagogical strengthening), Impulso al Empleo Joven (youth employment), Passport to Success (socioeconomic skills), Dual Training, and specialized initiatives like Soy Mujer Electricista and Smashed. The organization functions as an aggregator connecting private sector companies, educational institutions, and young job seekers through both in-person training and technology-enabled platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• COSPAE Digital: Digital platform providing online services to the business sector and beneficiaries, promoting connection and interaction with tools for academic process management, diagnostics, and training opportunities.
• CONECTA
• EDUCA
• Marca tu Rumbo
• Learning for Life
• SMASHED

Products and services

• Learning for Life Hospitality industry training program with approximately 370 hours of formation covering customer service, hospitality, bar and mixology, technical English, human development, and an internship in hotels, restaurants, and partner companies. Targeted at unemployed youth aged 18-30 who may have faced educational barriers, with a reported 67% job placement rate and 2,000+ beneficiaries. Delivered free of charge through a partnership with Diageo and ITSE.
• En Serio Panamá

Quantifiable outcome

• 67% job placement rate for Learning for Life graduates
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• DIAGEOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008International beverage company partnership for Learning for Life program. Diageo provides support for hospitality and commercial skills training for unemployed youth aged 18-30, focusing on employability through technical training, life skills development, and professional practice in the hospitality industry.
• ITSE (Instituto Técnico SuperiorEspañol)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical institute partnership for Learning for Life program. ITSE provides classroom facilities and mixology laboratory for training participants in hospitality skills. Participants use the institute's facilities for approximately 370 hours of formation.
• Collingwood Learning Solutions LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreator of the Smashed program - an educational initiative using theater and film to address early and inappropriate alcohol consumption among adolescents. COSPAE implements this program in Panama.
• AES Panama FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 'Soy Mujer Electricista' (I am a Female Electrician) program developed in collaboration with AES Panama Foundation, ITDB, and COSPAE. Trained over 20 young women in electrical installations, blueprint interpretation, and entrepreneurship.
• INADEH (Instituto Nacional de Formación Profesional y Capacitación en el Desarrollo Humano)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment vocational training institute partnered for Dual Formation project. Attracts private companies to become training companies and participate in youth skills development, with 64 monitors trained.
• MEDUCA (Ministerio de Educación)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinistry of Education partnership for Equip Youth project, working on technology training, life skills, and project-based learning (ABP) in professional and technical institutes.
• Panama Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture and IndustriesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the member organizations of COSPAE's board, represented by Jorge Arguindegui as Fiscal. Represents business sector interests in education and training initiatives.
• MITRADELmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinistry of Labor and Workforce Development partnership for employment and training programs targeting Panama's workforce development.
• AMPRYC (Autoridad Marítima de Panamá)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaritime Authority of Panama, listed as ally supporting education and training initiatives.
• Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism CompaniescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrivate companies in the hospitality sector that offer professional practice and employment opportunities for Learning for Life graduates. These companies provide real work environments for participant training and potential hiring.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AIESEC: Youth-led non-profit operating international internships and first-employment programs globally. Highly comparable to COSPAE's Impulso al Empleo Joven, which AIESEC was specifically cited as a partner alongside.
• Year Up: US-based non-profit providing workforce training and corporate placement for young adults from low-income backgrounds. Closely comparable outcomes-focused model: training plus guaranteed employer placement.
• Diageo Learning for Life: The international parent program of COSPAE's flagship Learning for Life. Operates an identical hospitality-sector employability model across multiple countries with the same corporate-bridged structure.
• Education for Employment (EFE): Non-profit focused on youth employability across MENA. Comparable structure: corporate-bridged training programs targeting unemployed youth with job placement outcomes.
• Per Scholas: US non-profit providing tuition-free technology and workforce training to underserved adults, with employer partnerships for placement. Comparable as a non-profit training-to-employment intermediary.
• INADEH (Instituto Nacional de Formación Profesional y Capacitación): Panama's government-run vocational training institute. Directly comparable as both deliver technical-skills training to Panamanian youth and serve as COSPAE's own implementation partner on Dual Formation.

Broad incumbents

• Junior Achievement: Large global non-profit delivering work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy programs to youth. Comparable model of partnering with corporates and educators to deliver youth-employability curricula.
• International Youth Foundation (IYF): Global non-profit focused on youth employability and workforce development. Directly comparable mission; IYF is also a major COSPAE funder and strategic partner.

Others

• United Way Panama: Panamanian chapter of a global non-profit network. Comparable as a coordinating non-profit funded by corporate donations and grants to deliver community/education programs in Panama.

Regional players

• Fundación Hazme Brillar: Panamanian youth-development non-profit explicitly referenced as a partner in COSPAE's Impulsando el Futuro webinar. Operates in the same country, target population, and youth-employment mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/cospaepanama
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cospae

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 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 COSPAE