The Costa Rican government’s semiconductor strategy: a matter of public interest for the country
Costa Rica seeks to become the epicenter of the semiconductor industry in Latin America, and its government has initiated a national plan to achieve this goal.
This plan, supported by the U.S. government, focuses on developing talent, providing incentives, attracting foreign investments, and creating an enabling regulatory environment.
In July 2023 the United States designated Costa Rica as the first strategic ally country under the Semiconductor and Science Act. This partnership, validated by the International Technology Security and Innovation Fund, seeks to create a more transparent, secure, and sustainable global semiconductor value chain.
Costa Rican authorities believe that the country has the necessary incentives to position itself as a relevant player, such as high-skilled talent, infrastructure, and experience hosting companies from the semiconductor industry.
The Costa Rican strategy for becoming a semiconductor hub
The Costa Rican government officially launched its strategy for semiconductors last March, declaring it of public interest for the country.
The strategy will focus on training and strengthening the skilled labor force, by developing a regional hub offering educational programs to improve the technology, microelectronics, and semiconductor industries.
The relationship between Costa Rica and high-tech industries began much earlier with the installation of Intel in the country in 1997. This milestone turned Costa Rica into the pioneer of semiconductor production in Latin America.
“I believe that our country has undergone significant evolution since the arrival of a company as influential as Intel, thus opening numerous opportunities for growth and helping to develop other related industries,” explains Carlos Esquivel, Site Manager & Pilot Line Manager at Teradyne Costa Rica.
Most recently, Teradyne, a semiconductor company based in our Technology Park, increased its installed Research and Development (R&D) capabilities.
With a long-standing presence of tech companies, Coyol Free Zone has developed significant capacity, networks, and connections that can be utilized and expanded.
Our Technology Park also boasts experience developing infrastructure adapted to U.S. regulations, a mature platform for recruiting personnel, and a strategic location for exporting.
We can also suggest that there is a current demand for trained professionals who can work in areas such as information technology, development of artificial intelligence algorithms, hardware and software engineering, development of manufacturing processes applied to the introduction of new products, and repair and customer service, among others.
“People assume that companies in the electronics industry only require technicians and electronic engineers. However, a wide range of skills are needed. These include general mechanics, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, optics and industrial production, in addition to electronic engineering,” Esquivel added.
Mirroring a proven formula?
The implementation of similar formulas has yielded successful results, particularly in the Medical Devices industry under the Free Trade Zone Regime Law. Coyol Free Zone is a clear example of how focusing the investment attraction strategy on a specific industry and offering incentives for new investments in geographically delimited areas, can be transformative for the export ecosystem.
According to the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (Procomer), as of February, the Medical Device industry is the main export sector in Costa Rica, which accounted for 41% of the total value of exports. The companies based in our Park are responsible for more of 50% of these exports.
In 2012, the Medical Device industry was declared of public and national interest by a decree of then President Laura Chinchilla (2010-2014 administration).
Similarly, the current government signed an executive decree declaring the semiconductor industry and related activities of public and national interest which is a sign of commitment to its development in the country.
As it did with the Medical Devices cluster, Coyol Free Zone will be a catalyst for the semiconductor industry, due to the exceptional business conditions that our Park provide to world-class companies.
We offer tailor-made solutions for stand-alone and multitenant buildings, cutting-edge infrastructure, N+1 redundancy in electrical and telecommunication services, as well as specialized talent pool with broad experience in the manufacturing industry.
The semiconductor industry roadmapThe government strategy for turning Costa Rica into a hub for the semiconductor industry is based on four axes:
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