How Can the Curaçao Chamber of Commerce Help Your Business?

Whether you are already a business owner or are planning to open a new business, the Curaçao Chamber of Commerce has the resources you need. Steven Damiana, the manager of investment and trade promotion, outlines some of the many services the Chamber provides.

Text Heather de Paulo

In a nutshell, the Curaçao Chamber of Commerce promotes the general interests of the Curaçao business sector, both locally and abroad. This includes advising and lobbying with the government, providing services and information doing business in, from and through Curaçao and keeping a roster of local and offshore businesses on Curaçao. A total of 38,000 companies are registered with the Curaçao Chamber of Commerce, 21,000 local and 17,000 offshore.

A total of 38,000 companies are registered with the Curaçao Chamber of Commerce.

What does this mean for you, the current or prospective business owner?
If you are starting up your own business, or just thinking about it, the Chamber can give you a complete list of what you need to get going. The first thing you need to establish is the structure of your business. Will you register as a proprietorship or a limited company? A representative at the Chamber of Commerce can help you consider the advantages and disadvantages of each option and what it would mean for your business. The Chamber can also help you with the structure of a business plan and, if you would like to go further, can introduce you to an advisor who can help you with setting up marketing and feasibility plans and whatever else you may need.

Once you have a description and business plan for your company, plus the amount of capital you want to invest, you can go to the Chamber to register. There is a registration fee, which depends on your initial investment. Your excerpt will be available to you the next day.

Why does a business need to register with the Chamber of Commerce? There are a number of reasons, but basically, being a registered business helps you stay competitive and legal. It means you have a business plan, showing that you are organized and have a vision. You will be included on the roster of registered businesses, which means you have networking capabilities, opening the door for you to do business with other, potentially larger, companies. After registering with the Chamber, you also have to be registered with the tax office and other legal entities. This helps keep your business on the straight and narrow and avoids legal liabilities.

If you are an existing company, the Chamber is the liaison between you, the business owner, and the entities that will help make your business successful. If you need any kind of advice, direction or guidance, the Chamber can assist you or direct you to someone who can.

There are different services the Chamber offers to existing businesses to help them stay competitive in their respective markets. One such service is course offerings with a variety of topics, such as how to start a business, time management, taxation, new legislations and more. The course subjects are based on the hottest topics of the moment. Lectures are free of charge; trainings and workshops usually have a small fee of around 40 to 80 guilders a course.

The Chamber also has a library with books and materials of any topic that would be helpful to a business, whether locally or internationally. The books include a range of topics such as starting a business, quality of business and all legislations that have been published. There are also business magazines, annual reports of different companies, both locally and internationally, and appropriate contacts in the government and private sector, both locally and internationally. If you would like to know more about the laws that affect your sector of business, you can find that information in the Chamber library. You can make copies of any documents you require. The library is your resource for anything you need to know about your business or business in general.

Another useful tool provided by the Chamber is the monthly paper, Empresa Chiki. Empresa Chiki provides tips for small and medium businesses with a different topic every month.

It’s also a great resource for foreign and local companies looking for local business partners and distributors. The paper is only published in Papiamentu. You can access it online at www.empresachiki.com.

The Curaçao Chamber of Commerce also helps non-profit organizations, or foundations. Foundations are different than a limited company in that they have to go through a notary to become established. However, just like any entrepreneurial business, a foundation can still seek help through the Chamber if they need advice, help making contacts and anything else they may require.

On the international front, the Curaçao Chamber of Commerce works to help local businesses find international contacts or to bring international business here to Curaçao. International promotional services offered by the Chamber include: participation in trade fairs abroad, outgoing and inbound trade missions, organizing trade fairs locally and providing assistance to foreign investors and entrepreneurs.

The Chamber has networks and good working relationships with the embassies where the Dutch Kingdom is represented. The kingdom has over 150 consulates, embassies and representatives in different countries worldwide. If you would like to know which countries specifically, you can go to www.government. nl/issues/embassies-consulates-and-other-representations. At the beginning of each year, a plan is made to focus on the countries that would have the best mutual business opportunities with Curaçao. The Chamber then connects with the Chambers and contacts from those countries and presents information on what needs to be done to do business with or through Curaçao or to start a business on Curaçao.

Once foreign interest in business with Curaçao is expressed, the trade mission enters the picture. The trade mission facilitates business matchmakings, using the Chamber’s extensive database of registered businesses, between local and international companies to build business opportunities or create new networks. The trade missions help foreign investors find what they need to do business with, on or through Curaçao through the Curaçao Chamber of Commerce, avoiding travel expenses and searching aimlessly for a good match. The Chamber can help by providing a list of local companies of the same interests or can go as far as helping investors set up meeting locations, hotels, appointments with potential business associates, translating services and more. The Chamber can also issue certificates and other documentation to facilitate transactions. Essentially, if a business has good economic impact on Curaçao, it will benefit everyone. The Chamber will help the process go smoothly.

The Curaçao Chamber of Commerce is part of the World Trade Point Federation (WTPF). The WTPF, an international non-governmental organization established in 2000, grew out of an innovative program of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Through a network of more than 100 trade information and facilitation centers, known as Trade Points, the WTPF assists small and medium enterprises in over 70 countries worldwide to trade internationally through the use of electronic commerce technologies. The Curaçao Chamber of Commerce & Industry Curaçao houses the “Trade Point Curaçao”.

The Curaçao Chamber of Commerce is available to anyone who currently has or plans to establish a business or foundation, as well as businesses in the international market looking to do business with, on or through Curaçao. The Chamber is private, not funded by the government, so it can give advice freely, but law does regulate it. Most of the services you receive are free, like the library, public registry online and general recommendations for a certain service or product that will help your business, but some services have a fee, like the workshops or specific information about a certain company. You can find out more about the Chamber at www.Curaçao-chamber.an or by following their social media pages, such as Facebook, which is www.facebook.com/Curaçaochamber or www.facebook.com/empresachiki for up-to-date information. The website offers services such as access to databases of companies and foundations on Curaçao, as well as information for those seeking to do business in and through Curaçao. You will also find registry forms and training schedules on the site. The website is in English.

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