In line with the progressive economic trends, the UAE has been at the forefront of creating favourable business ecosystems. The country has developed ring-fenced jurisdictions as a national growth strategy, launching various free zones that attract substantial amounts of foreign direct investments. With the tax exemptions being implemented, the UAE has become a global option for a range of businesses to develop in a bespoke ecosystem, designed to optimise the infrastructure relevant to each industry.
The UAE is fast becoming a pioneering leader in the digital world through a paradigm shift in the automation of the production and industrial sectors.
The Dubai Metaverse Strategy, recently announced by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, targets the metaverse sector with a contribution of $4 billion to Dubai’s economy by 2030; creating a high-tech digital platform that enables the acceleration and proactivity of all sectors. In parallel, the UAE continues to fulfil the global indexes of digital transformation to attract foreign talent and businesses in the crypto space, among others.
The UAE is also set on a mission to attract exceptional talent and businesses. As part of this effort, it offers liberal visa policies, including long-term and the golden visa to attract skilled individuals, and target professionals in priority sectors and innovative pioneers.
It has an incubator and accelerator ecosystem to attract entrepreneurs and support their business development. For instance, the Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA) enables entrepreneurs to work with the private and public entitles directly, creating an agile scale of forward-thinking collaboration – the Smart Dubai innovative scheme. Hub71 also acts as a catalyst for global tech ecosystem to realise the potential of blockchain technologies and venture into the promising digital sector.
Succeeding in this endeavour requires an agile and adaptive regulatory system.
The UAE successfully adapts its laws and regulations on an ongoing basis to meet the international best practices and become a leading global jurisdiction in a dynamic digital world. It is also offering more innovative regulatory models, such as the sandbox frameworks, aiming to establish a controlled jurisdiction for exploration and innovation.
Through these ongoing efforts, the UAE is establishing an enabling, supportive, future-proof, and transformative ecosystem, making it today a globally competitive hub for business development.
— Abdulla Ziad Galadari is Senior Partner and Naji Khairallah is Senior Associate at Galadari Advocates & Legal Consultants
