How to Start a Business in Dubai – Reach Your Dreams in the Investment Industry with ITQAN

Nowadays, Emirates has become the preferred business destination for all those who want to start a business in the MENA region …

Out of the seven emirates, Dubai has the lion share in tourists and investors interests, due to its central location, rich investment market, and fast-paced growth, besides the limitless opportunities it offers with many privileges and credit for investors and business owners 

Business is a legal entity that is registered in Dubai DED, which is subject to The UAE Federal Law No. 2 of 2015 on Commercial Companies.

So, if you want to start your own business in Dubai, whether it is a small or a big business, many steps need to be taken first.

Like how to set up your business in Dubai, business investment opportunities and …etc.

Just read on

• Key steps to start a business in Dubai
• Determine business type/business activity
• Get pre-approvals
• Choose an office space
• Approval/ Permit of all concerned parties
• Register Trade Name 
• Get The License

Let’s delve into more details…

• Key steps to set up a business in Dubai

The UAE government offers many concessions and facilitation to help investors start an investment activity on its land, but some steps need to be followed carefully to start your own business properly.

This process can be broken into several phases.

•  Determine business type/business activity

Talking about determining the business type or business activity, enterprises can be  classified into 3 types according to their business activities:

– Commercial
– Professional
– Industrial

Identifying the activity of the business, in turn, helps in determining several things, the most important of which is the type of business, its legal form, and the bodies from which Permission needs to be obtained. The following are the legal forms of the companies and the activities allowed in the Emirates:

Determine the legal form of the business:
Your business’ legal form must be determined to register your commercial activity in the relevant authorities, such as the authority of Economic Development.
According to the legal form, businesses are divided into five types:

• A Limited Liability Company. (LLC.)
• Limited Partnership (LP)
• Public shareholding company
• A public works company
•  Private Joint Stock 

Get pre-approval

After completing the initial steps in the process of starting a business, you can get pre-approvals to help you get the approvals of all parties involved when necessary.

But foreign investors must get the approval of the directorate of residence and foreign affairs before getting the pre-approval.

Choose an Office Space

This step is so crucial in starting a business in Dubai, as all businesses must have an actual and physical location in the city, besides a certified lease accredited by the Emirate of Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority to receive a license. ITQAN will help you deal with all legal procedures and finding rental offices in Dubai.

When picking a place for your business many things should be considered

 • The owner of The new license or the partner, who is a citizen, must be the owner or partner of the site-based license.
• The total number of licenses owned by a citizen should not exceed 10 under a multi-license system on the same site.
• The company should be At least 200 square feet 

• The approval of all Concerned parties

The different activities of the company require the approval of some concerned parties, such as…

• Approval by the Ministry of Economy for insurance business
• Approval by the Ministry of the Interior for transport-related business
• Approval by the Ministry of Justice for legal advisory business
•  Approval by the Civil Defense for the activity of selling firefighting equipment

Trade name registration

The business name of the company plays an essential role in determining the type of license to be granted to it, many standards and norms should be taken into consideration when picking a name for your business
• The name should not contain inappropriate words, and it should not violate public morals.
• The name should not be used by another company.
• The company’s name should reflect the business activity.

Get the license

Once all the previous steps have been completed, you can get the license after just a few more simple steps:
• Annex documents required for previous steps and submit them to the Economic Development Service
• Payment of commercial license fees
Registration of membership in the Chamber of Commerce

Now after getting a membership of the Dubai Emirate Chamber of Commerce, you can launch your business and start your business operations.

keep up with the ITQAN blog through which we aim to provide all the information you need in this industry.
If you face any difficulties at any stage in the establishment of your companies or have any legal or commercial inquiries, feel free to contact us to seek a consultation at any time.