Starting a business in Nicaragua

Thanks for sharing Lazytrader!

Armand

A Corporation must be Incorporated.

Any foreign who want to start a business in Nicaragua must Incorporate a Corporation or a Sociedad Anónima - which could be consider as an equivalent of a LLC or Limited Liability Corporation- to get the RUC or tax's department ID; which is imperative to run a business. If the investment is over $ 30,000.00 the business partners of the Corporation will be able to qualify for residency as Investors. Managua has the most "foreign friendly registry" to do the registration of the corporation and according the law could be incorporate in any place of Nicaragua. for further information just contact me.

Best Regards

Paul Tiffer

been living here for years , i warn any foreigner who want to open a buisness to think 4 times before jumping into the fire and mudd hole l, electricity is insane expensive 10 000 cords per months , providers do not want to work [moderated]

only price mart were you can count on as provider , had problems with bimbo bread , tip top chicken and all soft drink providers to come or show up , sales are horrible , employees are strokes , trust me run for the hills before you sink your self in  , panama was much better

So can't disagree with most of the post. Electricity is expensive. Not nearly 10000 cordobas a month but mine is about 1000 or 1100 cordobas which is $40.
You will need thick skin. I from NYC, did business there for years. I think this place is just as hard to break into the market. It's just like I said three years ago. There is not a plethora of pizza, yogurt, or your local sign shops. Plenty of opportunity is here though. This place is growing like a wildfire. It's not easy and in the beginning u will get your butt kicked. That's in every business though. I met a guy here yesterday that is opening a chain of thin crust pizza places and said he worked 80 hours a week in the beginning but hardly goes there now. You will need to put your time in.
This poster is right about the sentiment of the people and u will need to surround yourself with really good ones who are on your team. Makes all the difference in the world.
You can't expect to tell an employee to be at work at 8am and they walk in the door at 8am. Not reality. They come in around 8:30-9. Just get used to it and keep you expectations for punctuality low.  Most entrepreneurs I know are tough SOB's when it comes to work.

Sign the incorporation papers before a notary public
Agency: Public Notary

The documents of incorporation and the company bylaws must be drafted by a notary public. It is customary to include the company bylaws in the document of incorporation. Most notaries will also perform the remaining steps (explained in the following steps) in the incorporation process, for a fee of USD 200 (average). The notary cost is in between USD 750–1,000.

http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/explo … -business/

I'm looking to open a jewelry and clothing shop in San Juan Del Sur (we move there in July) around the fall.
Catering to tourists primarily.

How difficult is it to open a store? What legalities are necessary before opening? We will be coming to nica applying for a financier/renter visa. Any suggestions or help is much appreciated

Plan on not being in a rush. Everything takes time here. Hire a good attorney. Find a Nica to partner with, it will make paperwork go smoother. You can change it back to your name once you have your residency papers.
Get a RUC and pay taxes on time.
You might want to rent a place and scope out all real estate for a while to get a feel of exactly where you want to be located. Do u speak fluent Spanish yet?

Thx for the quick reply.w want to be located in sjds for sure for the tourist trade. W have a lawyer in Managua to help with our visa/residency papers.
I will email him and ask about ur suggestions.thx much

No i do not speak Spanish.we planned on getting a tutor when we arrived

Hi there! I am 27 year old Electrician from Ireland. Currently a resident of New Zealand. I am going to Nicaragua and Costa Rica from end of July onwards with the intention to go and develop business ideas in the surf tourism destination areas. I want to start a small business in hospitality, but my mind is open in terms of opportunities i.e. import / export, electrician contractor business etc. I speak Spanish to a pretty reasonable level as I lived in Ecuador for a while. I will hope to check out San Juan primarily and then scope out any other potential surf hubs where I might be able to sniff out opportunities. I would like to do everything above board and legit. I am very pro-active, communicative, and positive so I know that I will succeed. I am currently reading up on legalities and visas, and also about the government incentives for entrepreneurs supporting tourism industry. I would love to speak to anyone here who I can help or who can help me. Would be cool just to grab lunch / coffee with anyone who might be interested to share useful information. Thanks very much guys! 

Hi eirej,

Please note that this thread is a bit old

Will invite you to start a new topic on the Nicaragua Forum for better visibility please

Thank you

Maximilien

Try Western Azuero Veraguas Panama we have good surf a a new expat community we need everything I have good opportunity in land here