Business services
Suriname: your nearshore hub for Dutch and English business services
Suriname offers international companies a young, multilingual workforce, competitive costs and real-time overlap with European and North American working hours. Business services make up 40% of Suriname’s service exports, and Suriname is the 4th largest exporter of business services in the Caribbean. Business services exports grew from US$39 million in 2020 to US$85 million in 2024, an average of 22% a year.
service delivery seats (2025)
active operators
Dutch and English
per hour
Competitive advantages: financial attractiveness
Competitive wages
€1.80 to €5.00 per hour, typical entry to mid-level contact centre wage range.
All-in employment cost
About €2.80 to €3.00 per hour, compared with €20 to €25 in the Netherlands: up to 8 times lower.
Employer contributions
6% employer social contributions. Total payroll burden of 12 to 18%.
Electricity
US$0.12 to 0.14 per kWh, average commercial and industrial rate.
Office rent
US$10 to 25 per m² per month in Paramaribo.
Exchange rate
US$1 = about 37 SRD. €1 = about 43 SRD (June 2026).
Competitive advantages: people, skills and availability
- Multilingual: 96% of providers offer both Dutch and English services. Suriname is the only Dutch-speaking country outside Europe, and many people also speak Spanish and Portuguese.
- Young workforce: the average age of the workforce is 29, among the youngest in the Americas.
- Scale: 5,300 full-time BPO employees, 2,000+ ICT employees, 27 active operators and 6,774 service delivery seats in 2025. More than 3,000 new seats were created in 2023 to 2025.
- Retention: employee turnover of 15 to 25%, below the industry average of 30 to 45%.
- Room to grow: an estimated potential BPO workforce of 10,000 (Teleperformance analysis).
- Training: Anton de Kom University of Suriname, Polytechnic College Suriname, UNASAT, FHR Institute, IMKB, iMiT and Smart Suriname Business Academy support the talent pipeline.
Competitive advantages: business environment
Time zone
UTC-3. 4 to 5 hours behind Central Europe and 1 to 2 hours ahead of the US East Coast. Night shifts are common to serve European clients.
Digital infrastructure
The Deep Blue One submarine cable (25 Tbps, launched 2024), 2 commercial data centres in Paramaribo, 78.4% internet penetration and a National Digital Strategy 2023 to 2030.
International standards
Operators already work to ISO 9001, ISO 27001, SOC 2, EcoVadis and B Corp standards, and follow client GDPR requirements.
Cultural fit
Strong cultural ties with the Netherlands and Belgium, and decades of experience serving Dutch and European clients.
Protected Intellectual property: Suriname is member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and has signed various International Property Rights (IPR) treaties:
- – Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, signed in 1997
- – Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs, signed in 1975
- – Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of Registration of Marks, signed in 1981
- – Paris Convention for the Protecting of Industrial Property, signed in 1975
- – Strasbourg Agreement concerning the International Patent Classification, signed in 1975
- – WIPO Convention, signed in 1975.
International operators already in Suriname
Teleperformance Concentrix Yource Custom Connect Wengage Callfactory Strongbow TeleSupport Norsou360 Vanad Interactions Clientmind Contact Care Engine
Together they serve brands in retail, logistics, telecom and utilities in Europe and North America.
Opportunities
ITO
- Website development
- Web and mobile applications development
- Software development
- Software testing
- Cloud support
BPO
- Outbound/inbound calling (sales, recruitment, support)
- First-line/second-line support
- Email processing
- Customer satisfaction research
- Accounting, financial and billing services
- Marketing services
- Claims processing, HR and payroll support
KPO
- Market research services
- Data processing
- Data analytics and business intelligence
priority Sectors: business services
Support
Suriname Investment and Trade Agency (SITA) is the national Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (TIPA) and is committed to be the strategic and trusted partner of anyone who wants to do business in Suriname. Need support? Email invest@sita.sr or use our contact form.
A. RELEVANT ENTITIES
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation (BIBIS)- Ministry Of Economic Affairs, Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation
- Ministry of Transport, Communication and Tourism
- Telecommunication Authority Suriname
- Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation (BIBIS)B. POLICIES
The National Digital Strategy 2023 to 2030 targets 95% broadband coverage and 70% e-government service penetration by 2030.
C. INVESTMENT INCENTIVES
Suriname offers fiscal incentives to investors under the Investment Act 2001 and related decrees. SITA helps you understand them and supports your application. Incentives are granted by the Ministry of Finance and Planning.
- Income tax holiday: qualifying businesses can apply for an income tax exemption for about 10 years (the year of approval plus 9 years). Apply within one year of company registration.
- Free write-off of capital goods: full write-off of new capital goods worth at least US$5,000. Apply within 3 months of purchase.
- Import duty exemption on capital goods: 75% exemption for producing companies and 50% for other qualifying companies, for machinery and equipment in eligible sectors.
- Raw materials and packaging: full import duty exemption for manufacturers in industry, agriculture, fisheries and food and beverage production.
- ICT equipment: full import duty exemption on laptops, tablets, PCs, accessories and monitors up to 22 inches. No application needed.
- Solar energy systems: 90% import duty exemption. No application needed.
Contact invest@sita.sr for advice on your project.