Claudio Umaña always wanted to be an entrepreneur, and last year he got his chance. The 36-year-old electrical engineer got a phone call from an old friend from their time together at Intel in Costa Rica with an idea for a smartphone application. Umaña hopped on an airplane and moved to Barcelona, Spain, soon after to get in on the ground floor.
A new app developed by University of Costa Rica’s National Seismological Network provides confirmed magnitude, depth and location information about earthquakes. The app is available for download at Google Play and Apple’s App Store.
A new app called “Social Help” developed by a group of Costa Rican entrepreneurs will receive support from U.S. businessmen, including CNBC’s Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban. The application allows interaction with professionals such as doctors via videoconference, text chats and games.
A study released this week by the Public Services Regulatory Authority found that 57 of Costa Rica’s 348 gas stations last year failed to fully comply with technical regulations for selling fuel. That means that more than 16 percent of gas stations failed at least one of the national regulations on quality and quantity.
Costa Rica will offer free entry to national parks on August 24 for citizens, residents and international visitors. Reservations are still required at many popular parks.
