Universidad Privada Abierta Latinoamericana

What Universidad Privada Abierta Latinoamericana does

Universidad Privada Abierta Latinoamericana (UPAL) is a privately-held higher-education institution headquartered in Cochabamba, Bolivia, operating two physical campuses in Cochabamba and Oruro. The university delivers undergraduate degree programs spanning health sciences (Medicine, Dentistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacy, Nursing, Physiotherapy and Kinesiology), business and engineering (Strategic Business Administration, Commercial Engineering, Financial Engineering), law, social communication, and psychology, with program mix differentiated between the two campuses. In addition, UPAL offers postgraduate Diplomados and Maestrías and maintains a research and learning infrastructure that includes campus libraries, a virtual library (eLibro), a digital newspaper archive (Hemeroteca Digital), the Orbis Tertius UPAL academic journal, a scientific society, an annual scientific fair, and a directory of Open Educational Resources.

The institution serves individual student consumers in Bolivia through three enrollment channels: in-person enrollment at the Cochabamba and Oruro campuses and self-service web enrollment via the Mi Cuenta UPAL portal. Supporting services include an online complaints and suggestions system. The business model is tuition-based, though pricing is not publicly disclosed. Marketing and student acquisition are conducted primarily through the institutional website and organic social channels (YouTube and Facebook), with no disclosed paid acquisition, enterprise contracts, employer partnerships, or scholarship sponsors.

Operationally, UPAL is a small organization with 86 disclosed employees, no disclosed parent company, no subsidiaries, no funding rounds, no M&A activity, and no public leadership disclosures. Ownership and founding year are not stated in the source material. The technology stack is conventional for a regional university: a web portal for enrollment, an iAH-based library catalog, Google Drive-hosted document delivery for the virtual library, and standard social media properties, with no AI/ML capabilities indicated.

Name

Universidad Privada Abierta Latinoamericana

Legal name

Universidad Privada Abierta Latinoamericana

Website

https://upal.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

UPAL is a privately-held Bolivian university operating campuses in Cochabamba and Oruro that delivers undergraduate and postgraduate programs in health sciences, business, law, and engineering to individual student consumers via in-person and web-based enrollment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cochabamba

HQ country

Bolivia

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

UPAL is a private Bolivian university that sells undergraduate degree programs (carreras universitarias) in Business Administration, Biochemistry and Pharmacy, Social Communication, Law, Medicine, Commercial Engineering, Financial Engineering, Dentistry, and Psychology across its Cochabamba and Oruro campuses, plus postgraduate diplomas (Diplomados) and master's degree programs (Maestrias). Services are delivered primarily face-to-face on campus, supported by library resources, a scientific journal, and a student self-service portal.

Product overview

Universidad Privada Abierta Latinoamericana (UPAL) is a private university in Bolivia operating campuses in Cochabamba and Oruro. The institution offers a unified educational platform consisting of undergraduate degree programs (Carreras Universitarias) across both campuses, postgraduate diploma programs (Diplomados), and Master's programs (Maestrías). Supporting the academic offerings are research and library services including the Cochabamba and Oruro libraries, virtual library (eLibro), digital newspaper archive (Hemeroteca Digital), academic journal (Revista Orbis Tertius), scientific society, open educational resources directory, and an annual scientific fair. Administrative services include an online student portal (Mi Cuenta UPAL) for enrollment and a complaint/suggestion feedback system. The portfolio is structured as a traditional university educational model with face-to-face programs enhanced by digital library and research services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Universidad Privada Boliviana (UPB): Private Bolivian university headquartered in Cochabamba offering undergraduate and graduate programs across business, engineering, health, and law. Directly comparable to UPAL by geography (same city), private-sector positioning, and program mix.
• Universidad Católica Boliviana "San Pablo": Largest private university system in Bolivia with campuses in multiple cities including Cochabamba and La Paz. Offers a similar program breadth to UPAL and competes directly for the same student segments nationally.
• Universidad Técnica de Oruro (UTO): Public university based in Oruro, Bolivia, offering engineering, health, and science programs. Directly competes with UPAL's Oruro campus for the same regional student catchment.
• Universidad Mayor de San Simón (UMSS): Major public university in Cochabamba, Bolivia, offering a comparable breadth of undergraduate programs including medicine, law, and engineering. Competes with UPAL for the same regional student pool in Cochabamba.
• Universidad Privada de Santa Cruz (UPSA): Private Bolivian university in Santa Cruz with broad undergraduate and postgraduate offerings in business, law, health, and engineering. Closest analog to UPAL as a private multi-program Bolivian institution, differing primarily by geography.
• Universidad Privada Franz Tamayo (UNIFRANZ): Private Bolivian university with multi-city presence offering undergraduate and postgraduate programs in business, law, health, and engineering. Comparable to UPAL in scale, private status, and program portfolio.

Regional players

• Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC): Large private Peruvian university with a similar multi-program, urban, private-sector positioning to UPAL but at materially greater scale. Useful comparable for benchmarking operating model and program-mix strategy across the Andean region.

Broad incumbents

• Tecnológico de Monterrey: Major Latin American private university with extensive program offerings, hybrid/online delivery, and a strong research profile. Represents the scale and digital delivery benchmark UPAL could aspire to as it evolves.
• Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA): Largest public university in Bolivia, based in La Paz, with comprehensive program offerings and the country's broadest research footprint. Functions as a national incumbent whose reputation and scale overshadow UPAL's.

Emerging players

• Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR): Online-focused Latin American/Hispanic-market university offering undergraduate and postgraduate programs fully at distance. A representative of the online-only delivery model UPAL currently lacks, and a credible competitive threat for digital postgraduate students.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@UPALBoliviaOficial
• Facebookfacebook.com/UPALBolivia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/universidad-privada-abierta-latinoamericana

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 Universidad Privada Abierta Latinoamericana