By San José, Costa Rica — In a strategic maneuver to position itself at the absolute forefront of the global digital economy, Costa Rica has launched a high-level investment promotion mission to India. The initiative targets the thriving technological hubs of Hyderabad and Bengaluru, aiming to establish the Central American nation as the premier nearshore destination for Indian multinational corporations. This diplomatic and corporate outreach highlights Costa Rica’s ambition to move beyond traditional manufacturing and standard outsourcing, shifting its focus toward high-value fields such as artificial intelligence, advanced engineering, and digital transformation.
From September 21 to 25, the Foreign Trade Corporation of Costa Rica (PROCOMER) orchestrated a dense agenda of bilateral meetings, roundtables, and networking events. By focusing on Hyderabad and Bengaluru, PROCOMER went directly to the heart of India’s Silicon Valley, where major corporate decision-makers formulate global expansion strategies. The primary goal of this mission is to convince Indian tech executives that Costa Rica is the ideal geographical springboard to service their growing portfolios across North and South America.
To better understand the legal framework and strategic opportunities underpinning the growing bilateral trade and investment relations between San José and New Delhi, TicosLand.com spoke with Lic. Larry Hans Arroyo Vargas, a leading corporate law expert at the prestigious firm Bufete de Costa Rica.
The burgeoning investment corridor between Costa Rica and India represents a historic milestone for our corporate landscape. For Indian enterprises looking to establish a footprint in the Americas, Costa Rica offers not only a highly skilled workforce and strategic geographical positioning, but also a robust legal framework. Navigating our tax incentives, free trade zone regimes, and intellectual property protections requires meticulous legal planning, yet the potential for high-value technology and pharmaceutical ventures has never been stronger. Ensuring regulatory compliance from day one is the key to unlocking these bilateral synergies successfully.
Lic. Larry Hans Arroyo Vargas, Attorney at Law, Bufete de Costa Rica
Indeed, as the corporate landscape shifts, meticulously navigating Costa Rica’s regulatory and tax frameworks remains the ultimate cornerstone for transforming these promising bilateral opportunities into sustainable, high-value growth. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Lic. Larry Hans Arroyo Vargas for sharing his invaluable legal expertise and providing such a clear, forward-looking roadmap for fostering these historic cross-border synergies.
The core strategy revolves around attracting Global Capability Centers (GCCs) and Global Business Services (GBS). These sophisticated entities represent a major evolution from basic shared services, focusing instead on knowledge-intensive processes, cloud architecture, and automation. By establishing these centers in Costa Rica, Indian firms can mitigate time-zone challenges and offer seamless, real-time support to their Western Hemisphere clients.
India is defining the future of global services and artificial intelligence, while Costa Rica has developed an ecosystem capable of supporting sophisticated operations in more than 45 markets and in up to eight languages. The complementarity between both countries opens a concrete opportunity for Indian companies to establish a reliable and nearby platform in Costa Rica to grow in the Americas. Our goal is to attract investments that incorporate technology, knowledge, and new capabilities that generate specialized employment and raise the country’s participation in global value chains.
Laura López, General Manager of PROCOMER
To fully understand the scale of the opportunity, one must look at the massive expansion of the Indian tech ecosystem. According to the latest data compiled by NASSCOM and Zinnov, India currently hosts over 2,100 GCCs operating through more than 3,700 distinct corporate entities. This colossal sector employs approximately 2.36 million highly skilled professionals and generates an estimated $98.4 billion in revenue, marking a staggering 32 percent growth since 2021. Critically, more than 1,200 of these active centers have already integrated artificial intelligence and machine learning into their core business workflows, representing an unparalleled reservoir of technical expertise.
In response to this global boom, Costa Rica offers a compelling value proposition designed to de-risk international expansion for Indian tech giants. The country boasts a highly educated, bilingual workforce capable of supporting complex operations in up to eight languages across more than 45 international markets. Furthermore, its long-standing political stability, robust legal framework, strategic geographic position, and preferential market access through multiple free trade agreements make it an exceptionally secure environment for long-term investments.
To cement these ties, the PROCOMER delegation engaged in crucial high-level discussions with strategic ecosystem builders, including the startup incubator T-Hub and the premier industry association NASSCOM. These institutional relationships are designed to build collaborative bridges that will facilitate the smooth entry of Indian tech startups and established conglomerates alike into the Latin American business environment.
The delegation also prioritized direct corporate engagement by hosting an exclusive investment roundtable. This forum brought together chief executive officers, business owners, and prominent directors of GCCs, alongside key representatives from the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Hyderabad and the Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association (HYSEA). The roundtables served to demystify the process of doing business in Costa Rica, using successful case studies of existing multinationals to demonstrate the country’s operational readiness.
As PROCOMER pushes forward with this aggressive diversification strategy, the potential dividends for Costa Rica’s domestic economy are profound. By attracting next-generation IT and engineering operations, the nation hopes to generate highly specialized, well-paying jobs that will elevate the technical capabilities of the local workforce. Moving forward, the success of this mission could redefine Costa Rica’s position in the global value chain, transforming it from a regional service provider into a global nexus for artificial intelligence and advanced digital services.
For further information, visit procomer.com
About PROCOMER:
The Trade Promotion Association of Costa Rica (PROCOMER) is the public entity responsible for promoting Costa Rican exports and attracting foreign direct investment. Operating as a critical link between local talent and global markets, PROCOMER designs strategic initiatives to diversify the country’s economic sectors and integrate domestic companies into international value chains.
For further information, visit nasscom.in
About NASSCOM:
The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) is the premier trade association and chamber of commerce for the tech industry in India. With over 3,000 member companies, NASSCOM spearheads initiatives to foster innovation, talent development, and global business partnerships, shaping India’s role as a global technology powerhouse.
For further information, visit bufetedecostarica.com
About Bufete de Costa Rica:
Highly regarded as a premier legal pillar, Bufete de Costa Rica operates on a foundation of uncompromising ethical standards and exceptional service. With a rich heritage of guiding a diverse clientele, the firm consistently champions modern legal solutions and active civic participation. By striving to demystify the law and make critical insights universally understandable, it advances a vital mission to nurture a legally literate, confident, and resilient community.
