Starting A Business In Dubai: Know-How

While Dubai is an extremely popular destination for businesses and organizations all over the world, there are several reasons for individuals and commercial entities to carry out extensive research before they step in.

Getting To Know Your Destination

One key reason is that the social environment in the country may present possible challenges. In order to overcome this, it is important for company officials and individuals looking to reap commercial interests in the region to spend time in the city itself, understand the way the government and national entities work, and comply with the social standards.

Another aspect is, owing to the widespread nature of the interest in the region, there is stiff competition, although most of this falls outside the barriers to entry aspect, owing to the many facilities provided by the government to businesses.

In addition to this, a basic understanding of the workings of local authorities, including financial regulators is going to be useful. This is because most civil violations in Dubai are punished on the spot, and with fines, which, if an individual investor or company is not careful, will start to eat into capital and revenues.

Outsourcing The Process

One option for entities and people who are new to the region is to hire organizations that are well-versed in the process of starting a business in Dubai.

Most of the places are a one-stop shop, delivering visa services, securing licenses for your company, making applications, translating key documents, and most importantly, advising on whether to opt for onshore or offshore setups, and the freezone and mainland choice of venue.

Before You Step In

As aforementioned, the first step an entity or businessperson should take is getting to know the locality, the regulations, interacting with the local people and forming contacts.

Alongside this, most of the research one is going to undertake has to do with the aspects of the business itself. This includes assessing the competitors, understanding the markets, and setting aside enough capital for the set up.

Sponsors

The second stage is the hunt for a local who is willing to be documented as the majority shareholder. This will usually happen in exchange for an annual amount, and while this person will be responsible for the liabilities of the business as well, they do not have to contribute anything to the regular functioning of the organization itself.

Once the business is registered with the involved authorities, a minimum amount of capital will have to be displayed, as a failsafe for the company.

While the setting up of a company may appeal to many, owing to the absence of the majority shareholder requirement, foreigners and companies should take cognizance of the fact that these places are located far from the city limits, which means if the nature of the business needs it to be located there, a free zone set up is a bad idea.