Frequently asked questions

DUKAAT speaks to companies, entrepreneurs, professionals and investors, and offers knowledge programmes suited to students, graduates and those about to start work. Conditions for participation vary by programme and service.

The website offers Arabic, English and Dutch. The language of each programme or service is specified in its details; you can state your preferred language of communication in your request.

No. DUKAAT is a private business club and platform. We do not represent any government and we do not issue official documents — though we cooperate with chambers and official bodies where it benefits our members.

Those are open platforms with millions of suppliers; their strength is scale. We are a closed community; our strength is that someone has actually met the other side. We do not compete on volume — we compete on trust.

The Netherlands and Europe on one side; the Gulf and the wider Arab world on the other. Trade runs both ways: European companies entering Arab markets, and Arab companies entering the Netherlands and Europe. We sit next to Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port.

Free or subsidised lectures or initiatives may be available alongside paid programmes. Fees and conditions of participation are stated on each programme's page.

The programme page states whether a certificate of attendance or participation is available, the issuing body and the conditions for obtaining it. This does not imply academic or professional accreditation unless a specific accreditation is stated.

We start by understanding the request and defining the search criteria and the scope of the service, then we look for potential parties and arrange an introduction where there is a fit and mutual interest.

We help with the search, introductions and preparing for cooperation. Evaluation, negotiation, agreement and execution remain the responsibility of the parties, in accordance with the terms of their dealings.

Use the form for submitting an offer or a purchase request, and add the necessary details and attachments. The information is reviewed before it is published or shared, in line with the service available.

No. We verify basic information and publish it clearly, but the decision to transact — and the responsibility to do due diligence — remains with the member. Anyone who promises you a full guarantee in international trade either does not understand it or is not being honest with you.

Yes, as a project service. Representation gives your company a presence in the other market before you have an office there. What it covers differs from region to region; what may be done in your name, and for how long, is agreed in writing and quoted per engagement.

No. We do not take custody of members’ funds, we do not act as a bank or payment provider, and we do not guarantee any transaction between members. Payments run directly between the parties — by letter of credit, documentary collection, a notary or a licensed escrow provider — and we help you choose the instrument that fits.

The benefits included are set out in the membership offer. Some courses, consultancy services, delegations and extended research assignments may be separate services.

Yes, if you genuinely trade. We do not set a size requirement — we set an activity requirement. Many of the best opportunities start with small companies that can decide quickly.

We review your profile and may request documents or a short call. You receive an acceptance or a decline within 10 working days. Not everyone is admitted.

No hidden commissions. Membership is an annual subscription and project services are quoted per engagement in writing; any other fee is communicated clearly and agreed in advance, in writing, with every party concerned.

Yes. We process data in accordance with the GDPR. Only what you explicitly approve is published in your profile, and you can request correction or deletion at any time.

Membership is by nomination or invitation, and companies may also apply. A member puts a company’s name forward, we invite a company whose trade we know — for instance after an intake in which it set out a real commercial need — or a company applies itself. Every company is verified and reviewed before admission; an application does not guarantee membership.

A member tells us which company they are putting forward and how they know its trade. We then contact the company, or the company contacts us through the route ‘I have been nominated’ and tells us who nominated it. A nomination opens the conversation; it does not replace verification, and it does not guarantee admission.

Yes. Every member may put forward a company they know in trade — a supplier, a customer, a partner — and we verify that company like any other.

Membership is an annual subscription. Project services (market entry, supplier search, representation) are quoted per engagement in writing. No hidden commissions. The rate for each level is set out in the membership agreement; we publish no price list, because the right level follows from what you need.

The page for each event or programme states whether participation is open to everyone or reserved for members. You can also send an enquiry or a service request to find out which options suit you.

Yes. DUKAAT organises trade missions — Discover Netherlands, Discover Dubai, Discover Saudi Arabia, and Reverse Buyer Missions that bring buyers from the Arab world to the Netherlands — with the meetings arranged in advance. Events range from business breakfasts and Executive Dinners to Buyer in the Room and DUKAAT Pavilions at trade fairs. Members are invited according to their level.

No. What you tell us in an intake is read by a person at DUKAAT and used to find the right counterparty. It is not published on this site and not sent out as a list. Members’ requests circulate inside the network, and nothing about you is published without your explicit consent.