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Find public support
The organizations that help companies export from and invest in Nicaragua, grouped by what you need. Each card links to the organization’s own site.
1. Where to start
SPIEX, MIFIC and INIDE: the guide’s first stops, of the 12 organizations below.
Each card says what it can help with:Get adviceFind financeMeet requirementsResearch markets
- Get advice
Investment and export promotion secretariat
SPIEX
Secretaría de Promoción de Inversiones y Exportaciones
Acts as technical secretariat of the National Foreign Investment Commission, which decides on strategic foreign investments under Ley 1240.
Visit SPIEX (opens in a new tab)Source: La Gaceta 36, Ley 1240, foreign investments, 2025 (in Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · as of February 24, 2025
- Get advice
Trade and industry ministry
MIFIC
Ministerio de Fomento, Industria y Comercio
Registers foreign investments, negotiates and administers trade agreements, and runs trade, industry and consumer programs.
Visit MIFIC (opens in a new tab)Source: MIFIC, home page (in Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Research markets
National statistics office
INIDE
Instituto Nacional de Información de Desarrollo
Publishes the consumer price index and other national statistics.
Visit INIDE (opens in a new tab)Source: INIDE, consumer price index page (in Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
2. Export development and market information
4 organizations. Each card links to the organization’s own site.
- Get advice
Investment and export promotion secretariat
SPIEX
Secretaría de Promoción de Inversiones y Exportaciones
Acts as technical secretariat of the National Foreign Investment Commission, which decides on strategic foreign investments under Ley 1240.
Visit SPIEX (opens in a new tab)Source: La Gaceta 36, Ley 1240, foreign investments, 2025 (in Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · as of February 24, 2025
- Get advice
Trade and industry ministry
MIFIC
Ministerio de Fomento, Industria y Comercio
Registers foreign investments, negotiates and administers trade agreements, and runs trade, industry and consumer programs.
Visit MIFIC (opens in a new tab)Source: MIFIC, home page (in Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Research markets
National statistics office
INIDE
Instituto Nacional de Información de Desarrollo
Publishes the consumer price index and other national statistics.
Visit INIDE (opens in a new tab)Source: INIDE, consumer price index page (in Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Meet requirements
Central bank
BCN
Banco Central de Nicaragua
Issues the córdoba and publishes the exchange rate and monetary statistics.
Visit BCN (opens in a new tab)Source: Banco Central de Nicaragua, home page (in Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
3. Investment and business setup
2 organizations. Each card links to the organization’s own site.
- Meet requirements
Free zones regulator
CNZF
Comisión Nacional de Zonas Francas
Regulates the free zone regime, grants operating permits and runs a one-stop window for free zone companies.
Visit CNZF (opens in a new tab)Source: Comisión Nacional de Zonas Francas, about page (in Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Get advice
State free zone operator
CZF
Corporación de Zonas Francas
Owns and runs the Las Mercedes industrial park, a state free zone with a services window for companies there.
Visit CZF (opens in a new tab)Source: Corporación de Zonas Francas, home page (in Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
4. Customs and tax
3 organizations. Each card links to the organization’s own site.
- Meet requirements
Foreign trade single window
VUCEN
Ventanilla Única de Comercio Exterior de Nicaragua
Runs the single window where exporters register, request export permits and obtain certificates of origin and export forms.
Visit VUCEN (opens in a new tab)Source: VUCEN, exports page (in Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Meet requirements
Tax authority
DGI
Dirección General de Ingresos
Registers taxpayers and administers taxes, including for free zone companies.
Visit DGI (opens in a new tab)Source: Comisión Nacional de Zonas Francas, tax procedures page (in Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Meet requirements
Customs authority
DGA
Dirección General de Servicios Aduaneros
Runs customs, where exporters and free zone companies file customs declarations and requests.
Visit DGA (opens in a new tab)Source: Comisión Nacional de Zonas Francas, customs procedures page (in Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
5. Standards and sector requirements
3 organizations. Each card links to the organization’s own site.
- Meet requirements
Plant and animal health authority
IPSA
Instituto de Protección y Sanidad Agropecuaria
Inspects exports of plant products and issues phytosanitary certificates for them.
- Meet requirements
National standards body
CNNC
Comisión Nacional de Normalización Técnica y Calidad
Develops national technical standards and runs an information and notification office on technical rules.
Visit CNNC (opens in a new tab)Source: CNNC, catalog of standards page (in Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Meet requirements
Health ministry
MINSA
Ministerio de Salud
Regulates health products and food establishments, and its regulatory authority processes export permits through VUCEN.
Visit MINSA (opens in a new tab)Source: VUCEN, exports page (in Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
6. How Promote:Global helps
- Compare potential export marketsSee which markets import what you sell, ranked on public trade data, and read each country before you commit.
- Check duties and document requirementsCheck the duty, the origin conditions for a preferential rate and the documents a shipment needs.
- Compare Nicaragua with other countriesSet Nicaragua beside other countries on investment momentum, fundamentals and trade access, before site, tax and legal work.
- Find advisors and service firmsAsk an advisory firm a scoped, paid question, or browse firms that list their own services, from legal work to logistics.
- Organize your next stepsKeep each product and market in a project, with a roadmap of steps you work through.
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Promote:Nicaragua is an independent guide by Promote:Global, not an official government portal. The organizations named here are independent public and membership bodies, not Promote:Global partners, and every link goes to their own site.
Facts read from public sources, with an editorial cut-off of October 31, 2026. Nothing here is investment, legal, tax or sanctions advice. Check current status with the organization before you rely on it.