Category: Ecuador for Investors

Registering the name of your business or brand in Ecuador is a necessary evil you must do as one of the first steps when starting a business in Ecuador. Follow insidemma for business updates.

As in most developing countries, intellectual property is not as well respected as it should be, so registering your name quickly before someone else copies it is a must.

Luckily, the process brand creation is straightforward in Ecuador. Anyone can do it, even foreigners who are not residents of the country.

You need to go to the governmental institution called the “IEPI”, with offices in Quito and the major cities of Ecuador.

Once there, you will be asked to fill out a form for them to do a domain search to see if your name is available. This service costs $16, nonrefundable.

Then, if available, you can register your name for a one time fee of $116. The brand or name is now yours, protected. If someone infringes it you can sue and win, but in most cases threatening is sufficient to demotivate the infractor.

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Parque Machalilla in Ecuador is located just north of Puerto Lopez and just south of Puerto Cayo on the souther coast of Ecuador.

Within the National Park are many things to do. You can stay for the night with a local indigenous community, just ask for the town of AguaBlanca once in the park.

Once in the town you can take a cultural tour, mud bathe, or bird watch in the dry, tropical forest.

Parque Machilla also boasts one of Ecuador’s TOP beaches, Los Frailes, where most feel as if they were in the Galapagos, not on mainland Ecuador.

The beach is secluded and a wonderful day trip from Puerto Lopez. For a few dollars you can pay a motor taxi to take you there. The park does not have an entrance fee, unless you go to the Frailes beach, in which case the cost of entrance is a few dollars for Ecuadorians, and a little more for foreigners.

Buying property within the park limits is not permitted.

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Pan de Yuca (or Yuca Bread) is an absolute must try for anyone visiting Ecuador. Usually eaten with coffee or juice in the mornings, this bread has a soft, warm interior along with a crunchy, toasted exterior and is served while hot…and is made with yuca and cheese…

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As to be expected, in Ecuador, the schools work differently than in the US or Europe.

Kids start school at age 5 as they begin the “Primaria” which lasts for 7 years. After finishing the “Primaria”, they move on to the next phase of schooling called “Secundaria” which lasts for 3 more years (kind of like the middle school of the US).

After that, they move on to the “Bachelerato” which is kind of like their high school, which lasts for 3 more years. Most kids graduate at age 16 or 17.

At that point many enter the universities, which have a standard duration of 5 years in Ecuador for most majors.

The schools in Ecuador vary greatly in quality from schools that are “not so good” to schools that are often considered even better than most in the US.

As for the grade and high schools…there are public (free) schools and private (paid) schools.

In Ecuador, over the last few years the quality of the public schools has improved greatly, but finding an open space (cupo) for your child in these schools is very difficult, they fill up fast!

Most foreigners put their kids in private, international schools where the kids are taught in English or German.

Private schools in Ecuador are easy to find, and enroll in, and cost starting from $35 a month.

To locate hoards of schools in the area of Ecuador you live, the best way is to try the local yellow pages of the town where you live looking under “Escuelas”.

To find the best schools, the only way is really to get personal recommendations from others in your area.

The requirements for enrollment are pretty basic, they will ask you for things like the birth certificate of your kid, and transcripts from past school, etc.

In an upcoming post, I’ll talk about the University system of Ecuador…until next time, Domenick

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Just to prove this site really is about the good, bad and the ugly of life and investing in Ecuador, I thought I’d mention 5 things most expats don’t like about Ecuador (from what I’ve seen).

Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!

1. Street Vendor Hygiene: The food on the streets is delicious and cheap, but many vendors touch the food with their hands…often handling money as well…urgh!

2. The Prices for Name Brand Clothing and PCs: Electronics of all kinds and name brand clothes are noticeably more expensive in Ecuador than the States…be sure to bring down what you need in that regard!

3. Clouds on the Coast: The sunny season of the Ecuadorian coast is from late December to early April…the rest of the year is quite overcast…I like, cause I burn easy, but many don’t.

4. Bank lines: Ecuador is still old school in that many pay their bills and debts by waiting in line at the bank and making a direct deposit into someone’s bank account…a big pain if you’re caught in the wait.

5. The Lawyers: Hey, this is a given for any country you’re in, so why not Ecuador?

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