The need for chambers of commerce

The oldest known existing chamber in the English-speaking world with continuous records is the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce which was founded in 1783. While the first chamber of commerce was founded in 1599 in Marseille, France.  The largest chamber of commerce in the United Kingdom is Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce with more than 5,000 members.

In the United States, chambers of commerce exist together and side by side with the the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The Chambers of commerce represent the interests of businesses,

while the BBB represents the interests of the general public.

While the BBB has the authority to bind its members under a formal operations doctrine (and, thus, can remove them if complaints arise regarding their services), the local chamber membership is strictly voluntary.

In addition  to the national Chambers of Commerce, there are other Chambers of Commerce on larger scale, such as Eurochambres of Commerce, and the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC)

The core activities of a bilateral chamber of commerce include:

Provision of useful business contacts.

Provision  of  business services, including translation, interpreting and market research.

Events and Networking opportunities.

Provision  of  business courses and seminars.

Carries monitoring of new legislative proposals which might affect member's interests

A Chamber of Commerce also works as a leader of civic projects within the community. A local Chamber of Commerce provides sponsorship to local improvement programs as a means to improve the city's appeal. The local authorities often turn to the Chamber of Commerce first when seeking the opinion of the business community. Membership in a Chamber of Commerce is generally viewed as a powerful endorsement by prominent local business leaders.

Sources:

telegraph
answers.com
wisegeek.com
wikipedia