130 Years serving the community

How time flies. We are already at our 3rd edition of Curacao Business Magazine but it also a special edition. Not only are there very interesting articles about businesses, organization and business people in our community, but in this edition we are looking back at 130 years of the Curacao Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCC) as part our community. 130 years is an important milestone. As one of the oldest Chambers in our hemisphere, the Chamber has proven its importance to the Curacao community.

The chamber was launched in 1884 by law by the then Governor as a semi-public organization .The main focus of the CCC then and now is the registration of business on the island and representing the whole business community. There is a statement by the International Chamber of Commerce that I believe says why a CCC is a important institution in a community. According to the ICC: “In most societies with indirect democratic representation, national and local governments must rely on an institutional system to ascertain the views of those they govern. A chamber of commerce in a market economy should represent the full spectrum of business and industry and should be able to speak authoritatively and independently for the whole business community.”

In its 130-year history, the chamber has been part of many changes in Curacao. The Chamber was called upon by the government in 1909 when the island was on the verge of a economic collapse to present plans to the community on how to fix the economic problems. The CCC also lead the movement in 1949 to introduce a double taxation treaty with the US to open a new economic pillar. These are just to name a few of the initiatives the Chamber has taken over the years. It is then fitting in year we celebrate such a milestone, that the Chamber has taken the lead to help bring structural changes to the way Curacao has been doing business the past 40 years. Some of these fundamental changes are on the verge of being implemented taking away red tape and making it easier for our 34000 members and future members to do business in Curacao.

Since its first President D.Z .Jesurun, the board of the Chamber, which are chosen by it’s members since 1884, has given their time and effort in bettering the business environment on the island.

As a citizen of this country together with our board, I would like to thank all the past board members in the past 130 years that have volunteered to help grow the Curacao economy and the well being of our people. Together with our staff of 40 employees, our board will continue the hard work of our predecessors.

Pabien Korsou!