The announcement was made by the minister of the technological area, Luis Adrián Salazar, during an activity called “Towards the 4th Industrial Revolution”, in which President Carlos Alvarado also participated. The plan will be financed with a non-refundable contribution from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for US$ 15 million.
“Today, we reiterate our commitment to the prioritization of an agenda that seeks to generate capacities in the population and the productive sector for the adoption and creation of new technology, innovative products and processes, and with this consolidate the role of Costa Rica as a relevant actor within the 4th Industrial Revolution”, said President Alvarado.
“The axes of Business Transformation 4.0 and Innovative Society of the Digital Transformation Strategy represent fundamental elements to strengthen the innovation, talent and knowledge scheme in our country”, pointed out Minister Salazar.
In the same act, the government signed agreements with HP, Microsoft, and CISCO companies, which expressed their intention to contribute to the formation of human capital in science and technology of high demand, not only in order to improve employment opportunities for Many Costa Ricans, but also to be able to adapt and create new technology.
Investment in detail
How will the IDB’s non-refundable funds be used?
- So that SMEs can access services aimed at improving their productive practices, business management and compliance with international standards on quality, clean production and industrial safety, so that they can access new markets.
- For companies to attend courses, seminars, workshops and technological missions that promote the development of human and technical capabilities necessary for technology transfer, the proposal and / or the implementation of an innovation.
- To promote the development of new technology-based companies based on strengthening the capacities of their entrepreneurs and strengthening the capacities of national incubators.
- To award people in the Professional Qualification and Certification Program in areas such as Cybersecurity, Statistics, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Industry 4.0 (Internet of things, testing, robotics,
and automation), Innovation (Design Thinking), Quality, Supply Chains, Agile Software Development.
- For the attraction of talents and reintegration of the diaspora to develop new lines of R&D or innovation projects in the productive sector.
- For projects such as
Testbet 5G, together with proposals to encourage the use and knowledge of artificial intelligence, which can mean in the medium term important levers for the productive transformation of our country with relevant economic and social impacts.
