The Start-Up Nation — the UAE is going in for a serious upgrade to its well-earned status as a business-friendly nation. First with generational changes in the residency visa regime, then the granting of 100 per cent ownership for non-UAE nationals launching an enterprise in the country, and then in lowering the cost of launching a business in the UAE.
A business license starting from Dh1,000? Yes, that’s what the UAE is offering anyone with a business plan — or even one with an idea.
This is the new reality this nation wants to put out to the world — that entrepreneurs cutting across sectors will find all that they need within its geography. Not just the hard infrastructure, but the digital realms that power much of enterprise these days. To deliver that message to all possible global corners, the UAE’s got the theme — ‘United Global Emirates’ — for them.
”We invite talents from all over the world to make their ideas a reality in the #United_Global_Emirates,” tweeted His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
True, the Emirates is going Global in its search for talent, the Next big Idea, and help support the next-generation of jobs around it. The hard and soft infrastructure is now in place, with the country’s telecom and tech networks competing with the world’s best. Fastest 5G download services in the world? The UAE has it.
Spreading beyond
As the days close in for the opening of the Expo — that’s as wide a global platform as any — the UAE has chosen a most opportune time to roll out ‘United Global Emirates’. The resonance that this message will deliver to the universe of business owners will be all the clearer because of the timing.
It will also be a chance to highlight the obvious success stories — Swvl, the Dubai-headquartered portal that connects users to public transport networks and now with a $1.5 billion valuation. Or Anghami, the Arabic music streaming service that is waiting for its moment in the NASDAQ arc lights. And in the not too distant past, Careem finding a park spot under the Uber umbrella.
Funding the ideas
The UAE start-up landscape can also come up with the funding opportunities to fuel the ideas into sound business opportunities.
Creating a self-sustaining start-up ecosystem in the UAE — United Global Emirates has everything going to deliver on that prospect.
