What can the UAE do to cement its status as the best place in the world to start a business?

The UAE has spent years making it easier to launch a company. In 2025, the UAE again led the National Entrepreneurial Context Index and ranked inside the global top ten across all 13 conditions used to assess entrepreneurial environments. More than half of adults said they intended to start a company within the next three years, while around one in five was already starting or running a new venture. Yet only around one in twenty owned an established company. That gap is worth paying attention to.

The UAE has become exceptionally good at attracting ambition. Its next advantage will come from converting more of that ambition into companies that survive, scale and compete internationally.This is where it becomes more interesting - because making the first step is easy compared to creating the conditions for durable growth as a reason to stay.

Company formation is becoming easier. Scaling is the bigger opportunity

The infrastructure for company registration is already strong. Founders can complete much of the business registration process online and choose from more than 2,000 business activities across mainland and free-zone structures. Legal structures are accessible. Government entities have streamlined their processes.

A founder making the first practical decision, whether to establish a mainland company, or a free zone entity enters a landscape of interconnected choices. Each structure carries different implications for ownership, setup costs, approvals and ongoing operational constraints. Some activities require a local partner; others permit full foreign ownership. A flexi desk or virtual offices may suffice for certain sectors, while others demand physical presence. The business license varies by activity, as does the working days required at each business setup stage. Required documents change based on structure and residency status and when residency is involved, medical tests add another planning consideration.

None of these variables is individually complex. Together, they determine whether a business in Dubai or anywhere in the UAE will feel accessible or opaque to enter. The difference between a functioning marketplace and a friction-laden one often lies not in the regulation itself, but in how predictable and navigable it feels to those who must move through it.

Once operations begin, new questions emerge. What are the tax benefits available? When can free zone companies trade directly with the mainland? How does a founder establish a corporate bank account? What are the recurring service charges? 

The best founder markets are those where basic operational knowledge is easy to access without requiring extensive consulting retainers.

Turn a startup infrastructure into scale-up infrastructure

Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy supported the establishment and expansion of 1,690 digital startups during 2025, an increase of 39.7% from the previous year. Around 75% of the companies supported were global businesses entering or expanding in the emirate.

The volume is significant. The more useful question is how many of those new businesses can build durable revenue, hire strong employees and expand into international markets.

Dubai Founders HQ has been designed with that transition in mind. Under the D33 agenda, it supports ambitions that include scaling 30 unicorns from Dubai and enabling 400 SMEs to grow by 2033. Its model brings entrepreneurs closer to investors, corporates, accelerators and other resources rather than treating incorporation as the end point.

A startup rarely fails because it needed another networking event. Founders need customers, talent, distribution and capital at the right moment.

Trade shows can create visibility. A specialist consulting firm can solve a particular problem. Strong management can improve execution. A professional network can open an important door. But the real value appears when these elements connect around a founder’s commercial priorities.

The strongest ecosystem is therefore not necessarily the one offering the most programmes. It is the one that shortens the distance between a promising company and its next meaningful milestone.

Capital needs to follow founders through more stages

A mature entrepreneurial market needs different types of funding for different stages.

In Abu Dhabi, Hub71 reported that startups in its community had raised more than US$2.7 billion in funding and generated US$1.5 billion in revenue by the end of 2025. Its 18th cohort received 2,453 applications from 112 countries, with all 27 selected startups headquartered outside the UAE when chosen.

That level of international interest is important. Attracting a venture, however, is only part of the equation.

The financing needs of companies change as they grow. A technology startup may require institutional equity. A trading company may need working capital and stronger banking relationships. An industrial business may have a longer route to revenue and greater upfront costs. An E-commerce platform may require funding for acquisition, logistics and inventory before it reaches scale.

A deeper funding market should be able to accommodate those differences.

It should also help founders become more selective. A high price in a funding round can look attractive, but valuation alone says little about the investor’s ability to help. Strategic investments can bring customer introductions, operating knowledge and access to new markets. In some cases, those advantages can matter as much as the capital itself.

The UAE can also use its location as a bridge between regions. Businesses built here can reach the Gulf while remaining connected to customers and investors across Asia, Europe and Africa.

The opportunity is to make that connectivity systematic rather than incidental.

Make customer access a structural advantage

For early-stage companies, the first major customer can matter as much as the first investor.

Dubai Founders HQ’s 2026 accelerator work with Plug and Play offers a useful example. Twenty-three startups worked directly with five corporate partners and generated 36 proof-of-concept opportunities. By April, 15 were in advanced due diligence or contracting and three agreements had already been signed.

The model addresses a common problem. Promising startups can spend months trying to reach the right person inside a large organisation.

A stronger ecosystem can reduce that distance.

Corporate partnerships, government procurement and sector-specific programmes can connect founders with real operational problems. That gives a startup the opportunity to test its product while giving established organisations access to new technology.

For someone considering whether to start a business in Dubai, that can become a serious competitive advantage. The question is no longer only how easy it is to enter the market. It is how quickly a founder can reach the right customer once they are there.

If the UAE can make commercial access consistently faster, its ecosystem becomes harder for other markets to replicate.

Women founders need pathways to scale

Supporting women entrepreneurs remains important, but the focus should increasingly be on what helps them build and scale.

The latest GEM Women’s Entrepreneurship Report shows that women globally still face barriers around access to capital, participation in high-growth sectors and caregiving responsibilities. In the UAE, the latest 2025 data also showed that men were again more likely than women to be starting a new business, reversing the pattern seen in 2024.

Access to capital remains an important part of that picture. On Shark Tank Dubai, Amira Sajwani invested AED 1.2 million in Shake Your Plants, founded by Lia Coelho and Justine Dampt. It is a practical example of the kind of backing that can help women-led businesses move from an early concept towards wider market expansion.

Women building high-potential companies need access to major customers, experienced operators and specialist talent. More women building in AI, fintech, climate technology and other high-growth sectors would broaden the founder base and increase their participation in areas attracting significant new investment.

The longer-term opportunity is to make those routes to capital, customers and growth easier to access for more founders.

Keep regulation simple as the economy becomes more sophisticated

A growing entrepreneurial economy inevitably becomes more complex. The focus should be to make the rules easier to understand and apply. Founders should know what applies to their operations before they invest significant capital. That includes tax obligations, employment requirements, sector approvals and the scope of the licence they hold.

The Federal Tax Authority has continued to update its corporate tax framework as the market develops, including further decisions and guidance relevant to qualifying free-zone persons in 2026.

Clarity matters because uncertainty has a cost. Time spent interpreting routine requirements is time a founder is not spending on product, customers or hiring.

The same principle applies beyond regulation. Predictable banking, transparent costs and efficient administration all influence whether founders can plan with confidence.

Residency matters as well. The golden visa provides eligible entrepreneurs with a five-year long-term residence route, while investors and other qualifying categories have their own eligibility requirements.

That stability can influence where someone decides to build a team, establish a long-term base or make further investments.Asset protection may also become relevant as founders accumulate wealth across jurisdictions, although the appropriate approach depends on individual legal and financial circumstances.

As the market grows more sophisticated, the founder experience should become clearer rather than more fragmented.

Build depth in the industries that will matter next

The UAE’s willingness to make early bets has become one of its strengths. GEM’s 2025 assessment ranked the country first globally for entrepreneurs’ awareness of the need to develop and implement AI solutions, while sustainability also scored highly among new and growing businesses.

The next step is to build deeper ecosystems around these sectors. Capital, talent, research, regulation and customers need to develop together across areas such as AI, digital finance, clean energy and industrial technology.

AlphaHAS, the holding company co-founded by Amira Sajwani, brings together a diversified portfolio spanning real estate, technology, consumer ventures and private markets. Its exposure to both operating businesses and investments reflects the broader role the private sector can play as these industries develop.

Government can provide infrastructure, regulation and incentives, but lasting growth will depend on businesses and investors turning those foundations into commercially viable companies, new jobs and products with international potential.

From the best place to start to the best place to build

The UAE has already built the foundations of a globally leading entrepreneurial environment. Staying there requires a different kind of ambition.

Formation should remain efficient. Regulation should remain clear. Founders should be able to find customers, capital and talent more easily as they scale. And the ecosystem should accommodate different models, from technology platforms to specialist commercial businesses.

Founders may be attracted by how easy it is to start a business in the UAE, but the long-term advantage lies elsewhere. Access to capital, customers, talent and international markets will determine how many of those businesses can move beyond the startup stage and build lasting value.

The goal for the future is to make that path easier for more companies, from early growth through to regional and international expansion.

The UAE has already built one of the world’s strongest environments for entrepreneurs. The goal for the future is to ensure that more of the companies founded have the support, capital and market access needed to grow into businesses with lasting regional and international relevance.