Entrepreneurs are tired of paperwork and high-production costs, they feel that the government does little or nothing to change their situation.
Meanwhile, many entrepreneurs are offered faster processes, lower costs and even some exemptions in some processes in Panama and Colombia. Domestic companies are receiving tempting, foreign offers.
The most recent case is the one of Colombian entrepreneurs who want to take pineapple business to their territory. Arturo Franco Pacheco, new chairman of Unión Costarricense de Cámaras y Asociaciones de la Empresa Privada (UCCAEP), thinks that the private sector must make a decision to reduce paperwork and lower the rising costs of energy.
Pacheco insists on the fact that
the government must realize that accepting Colombian or Panamanian proposals would have a great impact on attracting investment and employment to Costa Rica.
Nevertheless, UCCAEP believes that entrepreneurs must remain in the country and continue to increase investment in order to generate more jobs.
According to UCCAEP, the problem is that there’s always “a new step” in a procedure that used to be regular. They believe that procedures should be authorized in both municipal centers and state institutions, but since that is not the case, those who want to make business in Costa Rica face slow, annoying processes.
Juan Rafael Lizano, president of the Cámara Nacional de la Agricultura y la Agroindustria (CNAA), thinks it is very unlikely for companies to stop doing business in Costa Rica, though:
it is a very expensive country, but there are great investment opportunities.”
However, many entrepreneurs might start seeing foreign countries as an opportunity to expand their business.