IDB FUND APPROVES $4,226,600 TO SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY-BASED SMES IN COSTA RICA

IDB FUND APPROVES $4,226,600 TO SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY-BASED SMES IN COSTA RICA MIF and CAF to co-finance trust fund for ventures backed by new entrepreneurs and angel investors The Multilateral Investment Fund will provide $4,226,600 in grants and financing for a program to promote entrepreneurship and support the creation of small and medium-size technological enterprises in Costa Rica, the Inter-American Development Bank announced today. The program, which will also be backed by the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), covers the incubation of new software business ventures, access to international markets, the creation of a network of Costa Rican angel investors and the development of private sector mechanisms to finance dynamic enterprises in Costa Rica. The MIF resources comprise $1.4 million in reimbursable financing and $2,826,600 in grants. CAF will provide $750,000 to the program while Costa Rican counterparts will contribute a total $2,564,800, including up!
to $400,000 in financing from Financiera Desyfin. "The program will apply a comprehensive approach and international best practices to promote wealth and job creation in Costa Rica through the establishment and accelerated growth of high value-added technology ventures and small enterprises," said MIF specialist Lorena Mejicanos. MIF project team leader Miguel Aldaz added: "The program addresses demand and supply issues. On one hand it will nurture new entrepreneurs and startups as well as help existing entrepreneurs to develop their full potential. On the other hand it will launch financial vehicles suited to the needs of technology-based businesses." The program will strengthen and expand Parque-Tec, Costa Rica's first private sector software business incubator. This venture, which draws from a successful experience in Colombia, will help local professionals, technicians, researchers and university graduates develop their business ideas and become entrepreneurs. It will !
also promote entrepreneurship as a model for developing a business-min
ded technology sector