The chart accompanying this article shows a graphical representation of historical data released by our Executive Branch in relation to the rate of traditional and non-traditional exports across a five-year period. This chart took a couple of minutes to make and did not involve downloading data. By using a powerful web application called Junar, charts like the one here can be easily created simply by providing the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) where the numerical data resides.

Junar is an online tool that lets users share data extracted from the web. Through a crowd-sourced collaborative approach, Junar allows users to point to the location of the data and link it to a community where information can be tracked, monitored and shared. This Latin American Internet startup (the founders are from Argentina) is gathering lots of attention due to its whizzbang functionality and potential. Junar wants to democratize data on the Internet, and to that extent is keeping its promised by opening its Application Programming Interface (API) to other enterprises like Startbull, a Colombian startup that seeks to crowd-source investments in Latin America.

According to Junar’s founder Javier Pajaro, the startup could not have gotten off the ground without the support of angel investors from Uruguay and Costa Rica. Walter Kissling Jimenez, son of the hard-working and successful Tico business visionary Walter Kissling Gam, recognized the sheer potential of Junar and made an investment in a company that had nothing else to show but raw talent and a love for data. Junar would later enter the Massachusetts Institute of Technology $100K challenge and advance to the finals.

The Shift of Tico Businesspeople from Recipients to Investors

Walter Kissling’s smart investment in Junar is just one example of a nascent business trend in Costa Rica. There is no shortage of business ideas and initiatives from sharp Tico entrepreneurs who are constantly looking for funding and startup financing. Businesspeople in Costa Rica face the same challenges with regard to funding as their counterparts do in other countries, and thus most businesses never get off the ground. The lending and investing philosophy in Costa Rica can be very conservative at times, even though the current rates of interest and requirements tend to favor banks and other lending institutions. This situation is bound to change, as more venture capital ideas are being incubated in our country.

Some Tico entrepreneurs have found their much-needed startup cash by means of crowd-sourced investing platforms like Kickstarter. The Costa Rica Star has already written about two such efforts: Tweet Land, the mobile app from WhyIdeas/Tree Interactive, and the popular film El Regreso. Tweet Land is a game that is powered by real-time events posted on Twitter, while El Regreso is a feature film directed by Hernan Jimenez that packed our movie theaters and pleased movie audiences. When both successful projects were in dire need of cash to get going, the business teams behind them went to Kickstarter. There are currently 15 projects related to our country that are looking for crowdfunding on Kickstarter.

A defensible argument could be made that Tico entrepreneurs should not have to look for startup cash outside of our borders, as there is certainly plenty of money to go around in Costa Rica. Today’s business reality establishes that investors will put their money where there is more money to be made, and the narrow mindsets of some investors may preclude them from injecting cash in Third World ventures. Such is not the case with Mr. Kissling, who clearly learned business moxie and ethics from his father.

Walter Kissling Gam

In a heartfelt paean to his father, Walter Kissling Jimenez told the Central American Institute of Business Administration (INCAE in Spanish) that his father’s devotion to business, work, family life, community, and education is what made him a great man; the only Tico to serve as a principal in Fortune 500 company (HB Fuller). The prestigious INCAE is among the top 100 business schools around the world, and its campus in Alajuela is named after Walter Kissling Jimenez’ father.

It is clear to see that the upbringing of Walter Kissling Jimenez has inspired him to see the potential in Junar and becoming an angel investor, but that isn’t his only venture capital project. Mr. Kissling is well invested in NavSat, a domestic company that develops and provides GPS technology solutions made in a country where they are sorely needed. Thousands of tourists who decide to rent cars in Costa Rica are able to find their way thanks to Mr. Kissling’s vision and investment.

Venture Capital Activity in Costa Rica

Walter Kissling is not the only Tico investor making inroads in venture capitalism. In an article published by El Financiero last year, Oscar Luis Chaves explained that the investments made into education in Costa Rica are finally paying off, and that it is time to continue investing in those who graduate from our schools, ready to tackle the business world. The CEO and founder of the Ad Astra Rocket Company, Franklin Chang-Diaz, has called upon Tico investors to consider providing venture capital to domestic enterprises that deserve it.

Novita Capital is a good example of how domestic venture capitalism can be turn a handsome profit and advance our local economy. Novita Capital has invested millions of dollars in three exciting projects, including: the Veragua Rainforest Research and Adventure Park in our Caribbean region, the Hospital Clinica Metropolitana in San Jose, and the senior retirement community Verdeza in La Garita (not far from the INCAE).

Venture capitalists not only contribute to the growth of the local economy, but also to the competitive business landscape. National banks should be paying close attention to what venture capitalists are doing in an effort to reach similar success through their business lending channels.