Mariana Costa Checa

Mariana Costa Checa (born 20 March 1986) is a Peruvian businesswoman, the founder of the 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.

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.

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. The project's aim is to train poor women in skills related to webpage development. 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:

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

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

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