Nicaragua Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in nicaragua, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Selling to the Public Sector
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Selling to the Government

U.S. firms should be extremely cautious when considering participating in a government tender in Nicaragua.  There are reputational and legal risks in doing business with any ministry or high-level official since many have been sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.   

Nicaragua is not a party to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement.  Nicaragua must comply with provisions on government procurement in Chapter 9 of CAFTA-DR. 

U.S. companies bidding on government tenders may also qualify for U.S. Government advocacy.  A unit of the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, the Advocacy Center, coordinates U.S. Government interagency advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters bidding on public sector contracts with foreign governments and government agencies.  The Advocacy Center works closely with our network of the U.S. Commercial Service worldwide and inter-agency partners to ensure that exporters of U.S. products and services have the best possible chance of winning government contracts.  Advocacy assistance can take many forms but often involves the U.S. Embassy or U.S. Government agencies expressing support for the U.S. bidders directly to the foreign government.  Consult Advocacy for Foreign Government Contracts for additional information.

Financing of Projects

International financing has largely dried up amid the government’s ongoing antidemocratic crackdown.  Most multilateral banks significantly reduced their portfolios in Nicaragua amid mounting concerns about transacting with the regime. 

The Central American Bank of Economic Integration (CABEI) remains a notable exception, supporting Nicaragua with a wide portfolio that includes infrastructure, development, climate change, and humanitarian assistance.  The government carries out many of the projects, but private investors also take advantage of these development funds. 

Multilateral development banks, including CABEI, the World Bank, and the IADB, continue to provide humanitarian and disaster relief in response to events like hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Outside of international financial institutions, long-term financing may not be available.  Banks are cautious about extending credit for capital projects due to high risks, and average loan rates are generally much higher than those available to U.S. businesses from banks outside Nicaragua.  Loans are available both in dollars and Nicaraguan córdobas.  Significant collateral is required to borrow locally, which may pose a constraint for businesses that lack assets in Nicaragua.  Real estate mortgages are issued for terms of up to 20 years.  The equity market is extremely shallow and not a reliable source of project financing.

Multilateral Development Banks and Financing Government Sales

Price, payment terms, and financing can be a significant factor in winning a government contract. Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB). A helpful guide for working with the MDBs is the Trade Finance Guide. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s (USDOC) International Trade Administration (ITA) has a Foreign Commercial Service Officer stationed at each of the five different MDBs: the African Development Bank; the Asian Development Bank; the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the Inter-American Development Bank; and the World Bank.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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