Who are we

BusinessNL is the Dutch Chamber of Commerce in South Africa, operating from offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town. BusinessNL’s mission is to optimise trade between South Africa and the Netherlands by providing certain services exclusively to its members. BusinessNL has access to the most relevant, contemporary information relating to private sector activity in South(ern) Africa and is the platform of choice for Dutch business leaders to engage and connect.

BusinessNL serves as a platform for Dutch companies seeking to expand their business ventures in / to South(ern) Africa. BusinessNL provides various services and forms of support, including networking opportunities, legal advice and financial planning. The revenue model of BusinessNL is a membership-based system with additional collaborations with service providers. As such, BusinessNL operates wholly independently and sustainably, operating as a Non-Profit Organisation (‘NPO’) which can remain operational without any public funding.

To ensure that BusinessNL is successful, it has established crucial connections in South Africa, partnering with the Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, SANEC, and existing professional networks. BusinessNL has also established partnerships with business services providers active in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

BusinessNL further joined the board of the European Union Chamber of Commerce and Industry Southern Africa, so expanding the BusinessNL reach. The action plan for the next 12 months is to strengthen relevant partnerships and expand strong, broad membership base.

The legal and governance structure of BusinessNL is set up in such a way that it ensures full compliance with South African law and international best practice. The BusinessNL Hub will offer different levels of membership, catering to the needs of both large and small companies.

The Directors of BusinessNL have Dutch roots / strong linkages and highly relevant first-hand experience with establishing (new) business in South(ern) Africa.

BusinessNL is actively identifying the most relevant sectors to focus its activities on, to channel further investments correctly. BusinessNL is poised to become an active link in the internationalisation of leading Dutch innovative solutions. The goal for BusinessNL is to enable the entry of Dutch businesses into South(ern) Africa which are making an impact towards a more sustainable world, whilst being independently economically viable.

BusinessNL’s strategic focus areas are wholly aligned with the nine top sectors (www.topsectoren.nl/) identified in the Netherlands to keep the country fully future proof.

Business NL is here to make it possible for all Dutch state of the art-businesses to function optimally internationally, specifically in South(ern) Africa. By doing so, BusinessNL contributes to the distribution of sustainable, innovative Dutch technology internationally.

An updated calendar outlining activities for this year is available upon request, just as membership options and whatever further detail you may desire.

Warm regards from Donnee Kruger, Jean Christian Bergsma and Job Feenstra.