Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic — The Dominican Republic’s private business landscape is delivering strong, broad-based growth in 2026, fueled by rising foreign and domestic investment, expanding cross-border sales, and ongoing policy reforms designed to streamline operations and attract new enterprises, according to top industry and government leaders. The positive update was shared during the official opening of the seventh annual Santo Domingo Chamber Hub 2026, a major forum connecting local businesses with global investors and buyers.
Lucile Houllemont, president of the Santo Domingo Chamber of Commerce, told attendees that the Dominican economy has already hit a key milestone in the first half of the year: 18,000 brand-new business entities have been registered across the country. She framed this surge in new company creation as a clear, encouraging indicator that the nation’s pro-enterprise policies are paying off, laying the groundwork for long-term entrepreneurship, expanded job opportunities, and sustained broad economic development.
Beyond new business formation, Houllemont emphasized the Dominican Republic’s unique strategic trade advantage: five active free trade agreements that grant local producers and exporters preferential access to nearly 50 international markets, representing a combined consumer base of more than 800 million people. She also noted the nation’s well-developed trade infrastructure, including an extensive national road network, modernized deep-water ports capable of accommodating large deep-draft vessels, and round-the-clock cargo dispatch programs that keep supply chains moving efficiently.
This infrastructure and access have translated directly to tangible export growth: official data shows Dominican exports hit US$9.267 billion between January and July 2026, marking a 12% year-over-year increase compared to the same period in 2025.
Eduardo Sanz Lovatón, the Dominican Republic’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, echoed the positive outlook, noting that the commercial sector has emerged as one of the nation’s largest employers. More than one million Dominican workers currently hold jobs in commerce, accounting for 20.2% of total employment across the country. Lovatón also highlighted a critical, evolving shift in the national economy: a growing number of Dominican businesses are integrating advanced digital technology and building out higher-value production chains, moving beyond basic commodity exports to compete in more profitable global segments.
A key topic of discussion at this year’s hub was the accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence across regional business operations. Paula Bellizzia, vice president of Amazon Web Services for Latin America, shared new industry data showing that 76% of companies across Central America and the Caribbean already leverage chatbots or generative AI assistants to streamline customer service and internal operations. Even more notably, 13% of regional businesses have already rolled out dedicated AI tools in core strategic areas of their operations, with separate budget allocations to support ongoing AI expansion.
The three-day forum brought together hundreds of attendees, including senior Dominican government officials, leading local and international business leaders, and global procurement buyers. The overarching goal of the gathering is to unlock new investment flows, boost Dominican exports, and build deeper, more resilient connections between Dominican enterprises and the global supply chain.