Costa Rica meets ideal conditions for business development, being a highly competitive country for attracting foreign direct investment. Its characteristics such as its geographical location, time zone, political stability, trained human talent, the free zone regime, and many others have made it a site of interest for large companies worldwide.

The country has managed to provide a value offer to attract and establish companies from various industries. Thanks to this, thousands of Costa Ricans have high-quality jobs, business chains are generated, and dynamism is injected into the Costa Rican economy.

According to data from CINDE, companies under the free-zone regime generate more than 180,000 jobs (both direct and indirect) and it has allowed the linking of 4,000 small and medium-sized companies. Even during the pandemic in 2020, these companies have generated approximately 15,000 jobs as of September of this year.

About AFZ. In 1999, with the vision of supporting and contributing to the development of Costa Rica and offering comprehensive infrastructure solutions, AFZ was created. After more than 20 years of history, this business city brings together more than 20 internationally renowned companies, including tech leading companies.

Precisely in 2007, the entry of Hewlett-Packard to its customer portfolio allowed AFZ to start a transformation process to become one of the main developers and leaders in the services sector. Proof of this is that in the last 10 years the company increased its operation by 168%.

This milestone in the history of AFZ allowed us to define the business line, which is focused on offering unique experiences to our customers, with the integration of technological and innovative solutions that are aligned with their business goals.

“We continue to invest in new technologies and infrastructure to ensure the operation of our customers 24/7, 365 days a year. This capacity is enhanced by features such as electrical redundancy and first-rate maintenance with immediate response times, in addition to all our expansion capacity and much more”, explained José Benavides, AFZ General Manager.

Generating experiences. The amenities offered by AFZ are also an additional attraction for these companies to choose this free zone to install their operations. Recent trends in the design of workspaces require places oriented to enhance the employee experience to improve their productivity and well-being. In fact, AFZ has met this need in an agile manner, positioning itself as a leader in the real estate sector.

“AFZ is constantly innovating its services while providing a good balance between home and work. Furthermore, its staff is always available to welcome and resolve the suggestions or opportunities from its customers”, commented Paulo Maia, Managing Director at Bosch North America and Costa Rica.

This modern business city offers multiple recreational options to the AFZ community through green areas, a recreational park, food court, Sports Zone dedicated to people’s physical health, the Multi-Use Building (EMU) for meetings and customer activities, and much more.

Expansion translated into new opportunities. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the world economy and the repercussions that the country continues to face, AFZ has maintained its operational capacity to continue with its expansion plan. Proof of this is the E-23 Building project, which, at a few months before completing its more than 19,000 m2 (204,500 sq ft) of construction, will have the capacity to generate more than 1,000 new jobs.

The following construction processes that will begin are the E-24, D-15, and D-16 Buildings, in addition to the development of other common spaces such as a clubhouse and a roof terrace where social gatherings of the AFZ community will be held. All these projects are developed from a leveraging approach of the benefits of the latest trends in technology, design, and with international certifications that guarantee compliance with the strictest quality standards.

“AFZ is a real estate developer that offers a great array of alternatives to our customers. That is why we are highly motivated to continue investing to offer new opportunities and experiences as a business city. Our expansion continues, allowing us to improve our offer and to attract new investments”, concluded José Benavides.