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Dubai wants to be the world capital of start-ups

As a hub connecting east and west, Dubai offers unparalleled access to the rest of the world and the diverse population that inhabits it. Once dependent on oil, it now accounts for less than 1% of the city's GDP. But what makes it so attractive to entrepreneurs?

By Victor LawrencePublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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Dubai wants to be the world capital of start-ups
Photo by ZQ Lee on Unsplash

Advantages to Start Your Startup in Dubai

  • Gain easy access to the international markets
  • Ease of business setup and quick company formation
  • Government support towards entrepreneurship and Startup culture
  • World-class infrastructure facilities and Free zones
  • Geographic advantage as Dubai connects the East and the west.

“During this fastest moving financial reform across the world, Horizon will act like a business and financial backbone for our clients through swift adoption of digitalization and our decades of experience and acumen in the industry.” says Pranav Modi, CEO – Horizon Biz. Consultancy

As a hub connecting east and west, Dubai offers unparalleled access to the rest of the world and the diverse population that inhabits it. Once dependent on oil, it now accounts for less than 1% of the city's GDP. But what makes it so attractive to entrepreneurs?

"Entrepreneurs are no different than anyone else looking for a nice environment with access to entertainment, education and ultimately having that ease of business environment," explains Natalia Sycheva, Entrepreneurship Manager, Dubai Chamber.

The Dubai Chamber is a semi-governmental organization, which helps those who want to start a business. Its entrepreneurship arm, Dubai Start-Up Hub, helped more than 2,000 entrepreneurs last year.

"There are several stages of the entrepreneurial journey from the beginning of the idea to registering the company and expanding your business to the foreign market," says Sycheva.

Since 2019, the leisure brand L'Couture has gone from being a local success to being a global one.

"I saw a huge gap in the market for comfortable, high-quality yet affordable sportswear, and that's when I had the idea to launch my brand. I had never opened a business before, so I was learning on the job. But here I've had great support as a founder," says Lyndsay Doran, Founder and CEO of L'Couture.

Dubai wants not only to increase the number of start-ups but also to encourage and develop those businesses, to have more success stories.

15,000 new licenses in the first quarter

By Nick Fewings on Unsplash

In the first quarter of this year, Dubai issued more than 15,000 new licences. A growth of 19% compared to 2020. The licenses issued in the first quarter of this year were for professional, commercial, tourist and industrial activities.

The Magnitt data platform tracks every investment that takes place in the venture capital and startup space.

"Currently, governments, companies at all levels are very interested in innovation and start-ups. When they try to make policies, to identify potential investments, when start-ups look at their competitors... That's the data that we're trying to add and help educate people in this space," says Philip Bahoshy, founder and CEO of Magnitt.

Intelak was created to support the launch of new companies in the aviation, travel and tourism industry.

"We have provided around 1.4 million dirhams (just over €300,000) in seed capital without equity capital to these companies ," explains Yousuf Lootah, CEO, DTCM Development and Investments.

One of Intalek's success stories was Dubz.

"A company that takes care of travelers' luggage before heading to the airport. We help them, with market research, to find what the right price is. And with that initiative, they got a majority stake bought by Dnata Group, and that opened 90 global centers," says Lootah.

By Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Dubai has issued guidelines on 100% ownership for foreign investors.

"I think it's easier than ever to launch a business now. The cost to set up is lower than it used to be. One of the things you see when you see success stories like Careem, like Souq, is that they inspire the next generation of people who are trying to create companies to copy them ," says Philip Bahoshy, founder and CEO of Magnitt

The Emirates has one of the lowest tax rates among its competitors, with zero corporate tax rate and 5% VAT.

"I feel that Dubai is a very inspiring city. It's exciting. There's always something going on. Had I lived in another city, I'm not sure I would have been as excited about starting a business with no experience ," says Lyndsay Doran, Founder and CEO by L'Couture.

The vision of the Emirates is to move towards a future dominated by technology industries, based on research, and to become the world capital of start-ups.

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About the Creator

Victor Lawrence

Victor is a content creator and love to share his thoughts across the web.

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