Jun 6, 2025
The ENIA was launched in October 2024 by the Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT), in collaboration with public institutions, business chambers, universities, and international organizations such as UNESCO and the OECD.
Its pillars include:
Ethics and governance: Promote transparent, accountable, and supervised use of AI in both the public and private sectors.
Education and talent development: Integrating AI skills into all educational levels, with an emphasis on technical and vocational training.
Business innovation and entrepreneurship: facilitating access to AI technologies for SMEs, promoting specialized clusters, and supporting applied research.
Digital government and infrastructure: improving public services through AI and strengthening cybersecurity.
The full document is available on the MICITT website and was developed based on OECD methodologies and UNESCO standards on ethical AI.
Opportunities for the business sector
Thanks to ENIA, various public institutions (such as INA, MEP, and technical universities) have begun offering training programs on AI applied to administrative, accounting, and production processes. This opens the door for Costa Rican SMEs to develop internal talent without relying on international consultants.
The strategy promotes the creation of AI clusters linked to priority sectors such as tourism, agribusiness, healthcare, financial services, and sustainability. Interested companies will be able to join these ecosystems and participate in pilot projects, grant funding competitions, and technical assistance.
The ENIA's "AI for the Public Good" vision encourages companies to automate internal processes using accessible platforms, such as accounting assistants, tax compliance tools, and demand forecasting systems. Institutional support provides legitimacy and guidance for those who responsibly adopt these technologies.
MICITT and PROCOMER are structuring partnerships to facilitate the export of AI-based services developed in Costa Rica. This creates a window of opportunity for national technology companies that provide solutions in human resources, finance, or data analysis.
Recent concrete advances in Costa Rica
In September 2024, the Latin American Congress on Digital Accounting Transformation, organized by Fidélitas and Alegra, was held in San José. It addressed how AI is changing regional accounting. It was one of the first private sector initiatives aligned with the ENIA.
The Ministry of Finance incorporated AI into its "Digital Treasury" system, detecting more than 70 cases of false invoicing using automated review algorithms, demonstrating the government's ability to implement AI with concrete results.
Several local fintechs are working on AI models applied to alternative credit, risk analysis, and predictive billing, following the guidelines of the national strategy.
Considerations for Costa Rican companies
Although the ENIA does not impose immediate legal obligations, it does establish a roadmap that will influence future policies, regulations, and incentives. Therefore, companies that begin now to:
Adopt good transparency practices in the use of AI,
Train your administrative and financial teams,
Join innovation initiatives of MICITT or PROCOMER,
will be better positioned to compete in an environment that will be increasingly technologically demanding.
Costa Rica is charting a serious and realistic path toward integrating artificial intelligence into its development model. Far from being a technology exclusive to large corporations, AI—supported by the ENIA—is projected as an accessible and transformative tool for companies of all sizes.
Those leading businesses in the country would be wise to familiarize themselves with the national strategy, identify training opportunities, and evaluate how AI can solve specific problems in their operations. The advantage will not go to those who invest the most, but to those who adapt the most quickly, with vision, ethics, and business judgment.