Doing Business in Belize

What sort of business opportunities could there be in a low-tax tropical paradise of only 380,000 people bordering Mexico? We suggest you simply take a ferry to San Pedro, in Ambergris Caye (where there’s the largest concentration of foreigners), and take a walk. The opportunities will begin to come to you as the little coral fishes come to you when you go diving. Let us begin to list only some of these.

Belize is a tourist Mecca where budget eco-tourism exists hand in hand with top-level luxury living. Best of all, Belize is still a somewhat undiscovered destination, which makes it perfect for investment. Major international chains and investors now dominate most of the Caribbean and Central American tourist destinations. However, Belize remains relatively uncommercialized and has abundant otherworldly islands, beaches, and rainforests yet to be discovered.

Real estate development can be done for a fraction of the cost of other countries due to the still abundant and cheap land-buying opportunities. Local materials such as timbers are also cheap allowing you to build a house for the whole family for prices you will never see in the US or most Latin American countries.

Belize has large amounts of incredibly priced farmland. Establishing organic cattle and fruit and vegetable operations is cost-effective, and the Belize government will be prepared to negotiate tax incentives. In some parts of Belize, if you plant anything in the ground, it will grow enormously due to the high quality of the soil and abundance of water.

Because Belize is one of the world's least-known offshore financial centers, it has attracted a steady stream of savvy entrepreneurs and high net worth individuals that love leading a tax-optimized life.

Belize offers one of the most dynamic and beneficial business environments for bold, clear-sighted investors.

Tourism is, by and large, the biggest business possibility in Belize. It is a wonderful country and has an amazing environmental mix with beaches, rainforests, and hills. Add to that the majestic Mayan ruins, and you are probably wondering why Belize is not a better-known tourist destination.

Only about 500,000 tourists visit Belize per year. In comparison, nearly 6 million tourists visit Cancun, which is a couple of hours north of Belize.

Belize offers the same climate, archeological wonders, beautiful beaches as Cancun at a lower price, with more opportunities for eco-tourism and without excessive crowding. Investors and adventurers alike are seeing the potential of Belize. The number of visitors grew 6% between 2018 and 2019, with more than half of that coming from Ambergris Caye.

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Tourism opens a wide array of possibilities: hotels, small Bed and Breakfasts, tours, beach bars, and more. Small, exclusive Bed and Breakfasts are a growing business and have great potential in Ambergris and similar areas such as Caye Caulker.

Beach bars are also a good small business option. Offering exotic cocktails and fantastic seafood beverages is an incredible possibility. Also, what's better than a massage by the beach? Spas and massage therapy places are widely popular in Belize and are businesses that enhance the level of Belizean touristic experiences. Starting a local business in Belize is not always a swift process (more about that in our corporate section), but if you have experience in these businesses, there is good potential.

Likewise, seaside land and properties are an interesting market (more on that in our real estate section). Some people are buying with the intention of moving to Belize themselves. Others prefer to hold Belize real estate as an investment to get capital gain when resold; most investors are looking to rent the property in the meantime, before later resale. That means that the property management business is also rising. People need someone to take care of their properties and the leases while they're not in Belize, which means that a possibly rising business is property management.

But that's not the only business opportunity in Belize. This country has incredibly fertile land, but only a small part of its land is used for agriculture. Most farms are smaller than 40 hectares, which gives you an image of how little agro-industrial production there is in the country. At the same time, the potential is impressive for producing and exporting sugarcane, citrus fruits, and bananas, especially in the districts of Corozal, Orange Walk, and Cayo. As the country enjoys excellent diplomatic relations with the US and the EU, it has naturally developed a market for agricultural products with these jurisdictions.

And that is without even mentioning the well-established freelance industry in Belize. Thousands of consultants and startups are working from Belize offering a wide array of services in a tax-optimized way, as long as they don’t do business directly in Belize. More and more people are starting to notice this opportunity, paving the way for office and commercial property real estate possibilities and corporate service providers.

Belize has an incredibly-well established offshore financial business (we will cover this in the banking and financial licenses section. However, there is still plenty of room to grow. When you think of offshore banking, Belize is not probably one of the first countries that come to mind, but there are potential opportunities. Laws are attractive; there are excellent service providers that usually cost substantially less than in other offshore jurisdictions, and the overall business environment is welcoming.

You would have to be blind not to be able to see the incredible opportunities Belize has to offer.

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