Today we got to experience two different aspects of the Costa Rica business environment, getting to visit Kyndryl as well as Dos Pinos Cooperative. Kyndryl gave us an example of what a Costa Rican multinational corporation looked like, where the lower labor costs and educated workforce draws companies in. Even though many of the profits go back to their headquarters in New York, the company still creates jobs and drives economic growth here in Costa Rica. It was cool to see how much the employees liked working there. I definitely think that only having to come in once a week is a cool aspect of the lifestyle here, and Kyndryls compound was beautiful and awesome to explore.
We then got to experience another side of the business industry here when we toured Dos Pinos, which showed us what a cooperative is like. It was super interesting to learn about how many smaller farms own the company instead of outside shareholders, as over 1300 farms are now a part of Dos Pinos. The compound was absolutely huge. I think that both models create important value for Costa Rica, but I felt that the cooperative model places a stronger emphasis on long-term sustainability and supporting the local community in Costa Rica.
