K-Technology Finance Takes Root in Costa Rica as KOTEC Builds Technology Rating and Guarantee Systems

[Financial News] The Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC) is establishing a Korean-style technology finance system in Costa Rica and working to expand it across Latin America.
KOTEC announced on the 11th that it held a local policy dissemination seminar in San José, Costa Rica, from the 8th to the 10th with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Costa Rican Development Bank (SBD), and signed a memorandum of understanding with SBD to strengthen cooperation in technology finance.
The seminar was held to share the key achievements of the technical assistance consulting project for a Costa Rican technology rating and technology guarantee system, which KOTEC has pursued with IDB since February last year. It also aimed to lay the groundwork for establishing K-technology finance locally and expanding it across Latin America.
Based on its proprietary technology rating system, KOTEC developed the Costa Rican Technology Rating System (CTRS), tailored to Costa Rica's industrial and financial environment. It also designed the Costa Rican Technology Guarantee System (CRTG) to improve innovative small and medium-sized enterprises' access to finance. KOTEC conducted pilot assessments of local SMEs and prepared technology rating manuals and operational procedures.
About 200 people from the Costa Rican government, financial institutions, academia and research organizations attended the seminar. KOTEC shared the development process and pilot assessment results for CTRS, and held a panel discussion on institutionalizing technology finance as well as a workshop on digitizing the technology rating process.
KOTEC and SBD agreed to share their experience and expertise in technology finance, promote exchanges between experts and employees, conduct joint research, and identify new cooperation projects to ensure the stable implementation of CTRS and CRTG. The Costa Rican government plans to use resources such as the National Development Fund (FONADE) to establish a financial support system for innovative SMEs with limited collateral, based on CTRS and CRTG.
KOTEC plans to expand cooperation to promote K-technology finance across Latin America, drawing on examples of innovative finance from countries in the region, including Peru and Uruguay, shared at the seminar.
Lee Sang-chang, a director at KOTEC, said, "This project is significant because it helped establish an institutional foundation that enables innovative Costa Rican SMEs to access finance based on their technological capabilities and growth potential." He added, "We will support K-technology finance in taking root as an innovative finance model tailored to the circumstances of each country and expand the foundation for global cooperation."
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