Finnish chamber of commerce in Latvia

ABOUT US

Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Latvia (FCCL) is a non-governmental, non-profit, politically neutral organisation driven by the interest of its members March 11. 1992, 18:00, Hotel de Rome, Riga Six Finnish business men and embassy officials sit down for a meeting. Few hours later Finnish Trade Guild in Riga – predecessor of Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Latvia, FCCL – is established. Since that moment we have focused on core aim of promoting development of the environment for activities of Finnish enterprises in Latvia and the mutual trade relations and cooperation development between Finland and Latvia. We offer to our members networking possibilities with Finnish companies in Latvia as well as assist Finnish companies penetrate market in Latvia and other Baltic countries. We also help Latvian companies to research and access the Finnish and Scandinavian markets fluently and effectively. We also act as a catalyst for introducing different companies to each other, helping to find synergies and creating more business. We aim to be the primary information source regarding Finnish and Latvian business related matters and work together with local authorities to enable the use of the local infrastructure while striving towards its goals. We have also gathered a large cross section of business know-how and an active member base. FCCL has two members' general meetings per year, in spring and autumn. FCCL arranges events to members throughout the year. These events range from relaxing and casual social networking events to high-level political and business seminars organised in co-operation with other chambers of commerce in Latvia. Through these joint efforts FCCL acts as a knot in daily business life in Latvia. FCCL is also an active member in the Foreign Investors Council in Latvia (FICIL). We welcome all companies and private persons who share the goals and visions of FCCL to become our member and to participate in strengthening even further.

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS

As a members you can benefit from FCCL's more than 20 years experience and tradition in Latvia. FCCL operates closely among Finnish companies with international business activities as well as Latvian companies with business interest towards Finnish.
As required by business environment in current level of globalization FCCL offer both traditional chamber of commerce approach where we act as a catalyst between the governmental and corporate sectors as well as newer networking oriented approach that rules business today.
For our members we offer full cooperation of these business networks, including Finpro, the Finnish Embassy, other chambers of commerce in Latvia and over 50 major Finnish and Latvian corporations and their resources. We can also arrange together excursions to companies, set up round table discussions with other members to solve problems together and share experiences.
FCCL has an excellent track record of helping Finnish companies penetrate into Latvian and Baltic markets as well as assisting Latvian companies to access the Finnish and Scandinavian markets effectively. As a member of FCCL you can also get direct contacts to decision makers of our member companies and get the best out of our wide network. Our activities are in nature both social and business-like to ensure cohesion within FCCL since our members are the best asset of FCCL.
In our Members Area our members have access to information available exclusively to members. There you can also download presentations from past seminars, make and receive special offers to/from other members and send feed back to the board.

TYPES OF MEMBERSHIP

FCCL has two types of memberships: Corporate Membership and Personal Sponsor Membership Corporate Membership is the main membership available for new applicants. It can be considered to be a "full" membership, where the member has the right to vote in FCCL ballots and present topics for board meetings in order to pass a motion. The corporate members are also always prioritised in events and communications where there are limited availability. Representative of Corporate Member has the right to become a board member, receive discounts in FCCL’s or joint events with other chambers of commerce and the right to use the information and networking forum tools of FCCL. Corporate members have higher possibility to influence host and sponsor events. The corporate membership fee for calendar year 2018 is 200 eur.
Personal Sponsor Membership is a supporting member status. Any physical person can become a Personal Sponsor Member thought it is mainly aimed at Finnish expatriates living in Latvia to support FCCL's cause and allow to participate in informal FCCL events. This membership is for persons, therefore the company name or logo will not be mentioned or advertised. Personal Sponsor Membership fee for year 2018 is 50 eur.

HOW TO JOIN

In order to apply for membership in FCCL you need send filled application form to FCCL. You can download form here or request it by email.
If any questions regarding application or membership please contact our Executive Director Mr. Kimmo Korpilahti ( fccl@fccl.lv). The application procedure takes usually 2-4 weeks and the application is processed in the next monthly board meetings. The application is fully accepted when FCCL has received the annual payment from the applicant.

BOARD

The activities of FCCL are governed by its board that is elected in the General meeting in the autumn for one calendar year. The board consists of six members, including chairman and vice chairman. Additionally two deputy board members are elected. The board meets monthly and to promote transparency in our operations board meetings are generally open to members

Arnis Pooks
Chairman of The Board

Kari Sjöholm

Silva Jeromanova-Maura

Arttu Airiainen

Ritvars Briska

Janis Leja

Laura Dzalbe
Executive Secretary

DEPUTY MEMBERS

The activities of FCCL are governed by its board that is elected in the General meeting in the autumn for one calendar year. The board consists of six members, including chairman and vice chairman. Additionally two deputy board members are elected. The board meets monthly and to promote transparency in our operations board meetings are generally open to members.