Mariana Costa Checa

Mariana Costa Checa (born 20 March 1986) is a Peruvian businesswoman, the founder of the non-profit web development organization Laboratoria. She has received international recognition for her work in technological outreach to women with limited resources. In 2019, she was elected as the independent director of Engie Energy Peru.[1]

Mariana Costa Checa
Costa at her "Innovation and Empowerment" talk at APEC Peru 2016
Born (1986-03-20) 20 March 1986
Lima, Peru
Education
OccupationBusinesswoman
OrganizationLaboratoria

Early life and education

Mariana Costa Checa was born in Lima on 20 March 1986. From 2004 to 2007, she studied international relations at the London School of Economics. She subsequently obtained a master's degree in public administration from Columbia University.[2]

Laboratoria

While residing in the United States, Costa noticed that web development did not require special instruction, but rather that a large number of web developers were self-taught. When she returned to her native Peru, she noticed that almost no women were working in the field, which inspired her to create Laboratoria.[3] The project's aim is to train poor women in skills related to webpage development.[2]

The organization was founded in 2014, when Costa organized a pilot program for 15 young women, who received training in web development. Laboratoria ended 2015 with 130 women trained, and more than 300 new candidates.[2]

Its funding sources include donations from Google, Telefónica, and the National Council of Science, Technology, and Technological Innovation of Peru. In addition, graduates from the program who get jobs as developers contribute a percentage of their salaries during their first two years.[2]

Recognition

In 2015, the Spanish edition of the MIT Technology Review named Costa to its list of Peru's innovators under 36.[2]

She was one of 11 Latin American women among the BBC's 100 Women of 2016.[4] During his presentation at that year's APEC Summit in Lima, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the case of Laboratoria as an excellent initiative geared towards women in the region:

The women who go to Mariana's program were able to access the opportunities that the Internet provides. That is the future I want to build.[5]

Barack Obama also had words of praise for Costa, stating that:

Now, when we were talking backstage, I had been reading about this, and I said, 60 percent of the women who have gone through this program now were employed. And I was corrected – it's now 70 percent. I had old data. But I think it's important to point out your success rate has been quite extraordinary already. So it's wonderful.[6]

In 2018, she received a Business Leaders of Change award, presented by El Comercio, EY, and ASBANC.[7]

For International Women's Day 2019, Mattel chose Costa as one of 20 women to have a Barbie doll based on them.[8]

References
  1. "Mariana Costa Checa es nueva directora independiente de Engie Energía Perú" [Mariana Costa Checa is New Independent Director of Engie Energía Peru]. Semana Económica (in Spanish). 21 March 2019. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  2. Sánchez, María C. "Mariana Costa, 29". MIT Technology Review en español (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  3. English, Jimena Galindo | Click to read this article in Spanish Click to read this article in (17 April 2018). "A conversation with Mariana Costa Checa, CEO & co-founder of Laboratoria". Global Americans. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  4. Collyns, Dan (1 December 2016). "How Latin American women are cracking the code to the tech sector". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  5. Taipe, Abraham (19 November 2016). "Mark Zuckerberg: Un emprendimiento peruano como ejemplo mundial" [Mark Zuckerberg: Peruvian Entrepreneurship as Global Example]. El Comercio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  6. "Remarks by the President at Global Entrepreneurship Summit and Conversation with Mark Zuckerberg and Entrepreneurs". Stanford University: Office of the White House Press Secretary. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  7. "Ocho empresarios peruanos fueron los ganadores del Premio Líderes Empresariales del Cambio" [Eight Peruvian Businesspeople are Winners of the Business Leaders of Change Award] (in Spanish). Lima: EY Peru. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  8. "Barbie presenta muñeca inspirada en emprendedora peruana" [Barbie Presents Doll Based on Peruvian Entrepreneur]. El Comercio (in Spanish). Lima. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
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