Dynamic Business

Even small towns have chambers of commerce, but what exactly do these organisations do and how can they assist your business?

A chamber of commerce, business chamber, board of trade—call it what you will, but any organisation that assists business is a friend of yours. You may be familiar with your local chamber of commerce already. Most metropolitan areas, even modest-sized towns, have one and they are usually positioned to play a prominent role representing commercial interests in their area.

While the specific objectives of various chambers of commerce do vary from location to location, in general they exist to facilitate business as well as act and lobby on behalf of businesses to other bodies, such as councils and Government.

“They would be set up to further the process of business, they have a commercial focus,” says Nathan Backhouse, director of trade and international affairs at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI). “There are core activities but they are very flexible, and that’s due to the general council structure, which moves the overall activities of the chamber in a certain direction depending on issues that may have arisen.”

Chambers vary in size from an organisation representing a single township through to city chambers, state chambers, national chambers and international chambers of commerce. The ACCI itself is the peak council for business associations in Australia and represents more than 350,000 businesses under its member umbrella.

“Business chambers are business networks whose goal is to represent members both nationally and internationally,” Backhouse defines. “They’re not associated with the Government but are often involved at local, state and federal level to accomplish chamber goals.”

The chambers follow a not-for-profit organisation structure and are legal entities, which means they carry a board, usually made up of experienced business people that members elect.

Chambers of commerce differ from trade associations in their broader objectives. While trade associations traditionally deal with facilitating trade relationships and all the activities that come under that banner, chambers tend to be more representative of their membership.

This is evident whenever Government announces a policy or legislation that may affect businesses; you will probably hear your local business chamber comment on politics in order to find a voice for commercial interests. Chambers of commerce may also set a policy themselves, which they can then present to Government as their contribution to the democratic process.

Help with trade
For businesses looking to deal internationally, a chamber of commerce can help with trade facilitation, which includes processes such as business matching where the chamber can introduce potential business partners. In some countries, this is “the key mechanism for businesses to connect with other businesses to sell their products or find partners,” says Backhouse.

“We have extensive contact with international chambers around the world and we get a lot of queries from overseas chambers looking for business partners here,” he mentions.
Most chambers also offer trade advice, whether it’s on international trade agreements or overseas investments, as well as market information. Backhouse also nominates seminars on how to import or export, and export documentation as other functions.

“The chamber is one of the few organisations authorised by the Government to issues certificates of origin, which are very important for overseas customs agencies,” he says.
Popular types of assistance includes export documentation and export documentation advice, followed by broader trade advice and then business matching, overseas trade visits, and trade-related seminars.

“Most businesses ask how to get involved in overseas markets, and about some of the key things they have to be aware of,” says Backhouse. “Usually it’s, ‘do you have contacts overseas that could help us sell our products?’”