How to Start a Business in Dubai - Get A Complete Guide (2024)

by Zaara 04, Jan 2024

Being a leading business platform, the city of Dubai holds the first position on the business professionals list. The attractive tax-free norms and ease of doing business help to grab the attention of the international investors dealing in any business industry. Starting a business in Dubai is a perfect option for business entrepreneurs and established professionals. However, for a new player in the market, the question remains about how to proceed. Well, this guide will take you through the essential points that are to be followed effectively to business setup in Dubai. Let’s dive deep and understand the order accordingly.

Things to do Before Business Setup in Dubai

Before registering your business, here are the basic things you must do.

1. Do a Market Analysis

The first and foremost step is understanding the market where you plan to start a business. You need to understand the competitor’s presence and the target audience. Having a complete idea of this will help you understand the market's intensity. You will also have an opinion regarding your company's break-analysis period and growth. A complete view of this will help you plan and start a business in Dubai smoothly.

2. Understand the Competitor’s Strategy

The next step is to analyze and understand the competitor’s strategy in order to get a complete idea about the strategy that they apply to grab the attention of the target audiences. Once you get an idea of this, you can build your own strategy accordingly to uplift your business and excel in it.

3. Select an Appropriate Location

The location turns out to be one of the most important parameters that affect every business. If you end up opening your business where there is no target audience, you would finally end up turning up to losses. On the other hand, if your business is set up at the right place, you will end up grabbing more attention, and as a result, the revenue of your business will ultimately spike up within a short duration. The Emirate of Dubai provides regional options like MainlandOffshore, and Free Zones to incorporate their business, respectively.

4. Decide on a Business Activity

As stated before, there are over 30 free zones in Dubai. The nature of your business can have an effect on which free zone you chose to set up in. Generally, it often makes sense to set up near businesses in the same sector.

Steps to Incorporate a Company in Dubai

After doing the planning and preparation, the steps to set up a Dubai business are as follows:

1. Register your Trade Name

When choosing your business name, it’s important that it conforms to the UAE’s strict naming conventions. Names that include offensive language could be perceived as offensive to religion, or refer to political groups or the mafia are forbidden. If you’re naming the business after a person, you’ll need to prove the person is a partner or owner of the company (no initials or abbreviations allowed). 

2. Get an Initial Approval

You’ll need to apply for initial approval to ensure that the Dubai DED has no objections to you starting a business so that you can get started in the next steps for your license. You can apply for this online, in person or through a third party (like through a law firm). The documents you’ll need to provide will depend on your business nature, but generally are:

  • Business registration and licensing form
  • Copy of your passport or ID
  • Copy of your residence permit/ visa
  • The company's articles of association
  • Feasibility study of the project

3. Obtain the Business License

One of the things that you need to look for is to obtain a business license or permit to carry out the business operations. In Dubai, different business licenses are available, which needs to be obtained at the initial phase of business formation. Once you hold a business license, you get a green signal to carry out the relevant activities. To get a complete idea regarding the business licenses available in Dubai.

4. Be Ready with the Essential Documents

You should be ready with the essential documents that are to be submitted to the Government Authorities in Dubai. Some of the necessary documents include:

  • Memorandum and Articles of Association
  • Passport and Visa of the shareholders
  • A business application form duly filled and signed by the shareholders
  • Initial capital to be invested
  • A blueprint of the business plan etc.

5. Open a Corporate Bank Account

The next important thing that you should step in is to open a corporate bank account for your business. By doing so, it will turn out to be an easy process for you to handle your financial stability, and you can keep track of the financial growth as well. Additionally, maintaining a decent relationship with the bank along with positive records will help you in getting an easy loan as and when required.

6. Get a Physical Office Space

A physical office completes the physical existence of a business. Since the government is taking numerous steps to invite foreign nationals to invest in Dubai, they have also roped multiple business office solutions to ease the company set-up process. Obtaining a physical office in Dubai nowadays have become much easier as there are plenty of options available that you can choose from based on your company requirements.

7. Get the Right Professionals

The right people at the right job brings the best match to carry out the right activities at the right time. It is a well-known fact that the employees of a company are regarded as the real assets that drive the company to the next extent. Global hiring ends upbringing great results in a diversified environment. Knowing this fact, Dubai serves the complete freedom for the investors to come forward and hire foreign employees into their organization.

8. Get the Respective Visas

You being the owner of a business needs to obtain an investor visa at the initial phase. Once you set up your business, you need to provide the respective employment visas to your employees to onboard them effectively and start the business operations.

Thus, now, you have got a complete flow of how to start a business in Dubai. Business owners from every corner of the world are approaching the path of incorporating a company in Dubai. One of the core reasons behind this objective is the upcoming Expo 2020, which will be held for a period of six months, and is expected to grab the attention of 25 million visitors. To carry out the process smoothly, the best option for business professionals is to get in touch with business consultants who can help them incorporate a business in UAE and carry out all the functionalities easily.

Commitbiz – Your One-Stop-Shop for Company Incorporation in Dubai

Commitbiz Management Consultants is here to guide you at every step to give a physical existence to your business dreams. Our business experts are well-versed in professional proceedings and can help you deal with the incorporation process from the beginning to the end. They take the initiative to understand your business needs and cater to them accordingly. If you hold any doubts, speak to our advisors to get clarity. Do contact us today-we’d be glad to assist.