Insights
Guidance and intelligence for founders
Practical, founder-friendly reading on setting up and running a company in the UAE. Structure, cost, tax, banking, and compliance, explained clearly.
Opportunity
Structuring
Why some African family businesses hold assets through a UAE holding company
Some African families hold international assets through a UAE holding company. How the vehicles, tax and disclosure rules work, and why home rules come first.
Read the insightTrade Corridor
Why the UAE–Africa trade corridor matters, and the part we want to play
Trade between the UAE and Africa reached about $158bn in 2025. What is driving it, what the headline figure hides, and where we fit.
Read the insightMarket Opportunity
Dubai's D33 agenda: why now is the time to set up your business
Dubai is doubling its economy by 2033. The targets, the momentum already showing in the numbers, and how founders can take advantage, end to end.
Read the guideCompany Setup
Relocation
Your first 30 days in Dubai as a founder: a practical checklist
The first month after your licence and visa arrive, in the order that works, with a checklist to work through.
Read the checklistCompany Setup
Choosing a UAE trade name that gets approved first time
Religious words, brands, surnames and bad transliteration sink many applications. The UAE trade name rules, and how to choose a name that passes.
Read the guideVisas & Residency
Bringing your family to the UAE: sponsoring a spouse, children and parents
The income rule, who you can sponsor, the attestation chain for African certificates, Ejari, insurance and the order of steps.
Read the guideLicensing
What a UAE general trading licence covers, and when a narrower activity wins
General trading sounds like a licence to sell anything. What it covers, which goods sit outside it, and when a narrower activity serves you better.
Read the guideCompany Setup
Freelance permit or your own company in the UAE: how to choose
Consultant, creative or developer? How a freelance permit and your own company compare on visas, hiring, banking and tax, and when to move.
Read the guideVisas & Residency
Investor visa or Golden Visa: residence routes for UAE company owners
Residence through your own company or the 10-year Golden Visa. Who qualifies, what each gives you, and how the steps run.
Read the guideCompany Setup
Free Zone vs Mainland: which UAE jurisdiction is right for you?
The first and most consequential decision. Ownership, market access, cost, visas, tax, banking, and a clear, colour-coded comparison to help you choose the structure that fits your business.
Read the guideTax & VAT
Tax & VAT
UAE e-invoicing: what small and new companies need to do before 2027
UAE e-invoicing reaches small companies on 1 July 2027, VAT registered or not. The timeline, the five-corner model and the steps to take now.
Read the guideTax & Compliance
UAE taxes, explained: what you pay and what you don’t
Corporate tax, VAT, excise, customs, and the long list of taxes that do not exist. The whole system in plain language, and why it works in your favour.
Read the guideCorporate Tax
Corporate tax for new UAE companies
Registration, rates, Free Zone treatment, records, deadlines, and how tax affects your structure from day one.
Read the guideCompliance
Compliance
Trademark registration in the UAE: how to protect your brand
A trade licence protects your company name, not your brand. How to register a trademark in the UAE, and how African brands can protect themselves in the Gulf.
Read the guideEmployment
Hiring your first employee in the UAE: a founder's guide
Work permits, contracts, probation, WPS, gratuity and insurance for your first UAE hire, and who Emiratisation targets apply to.
Read the guideCompliance
First-year compliance checklist for new UAE companies
Corporate tax, VAT, accounting, banking, visas, and renewals: an interactive checklist for your first twelve months.
Read the guideMarket Entry
Trade & Customs
Exporting food to the UAE: the compliance guide for African producers
Before African food reaches a UAE shelf it must be registered, labelled in Arabic, dated correctly and often certified halal. Here is how it works.
Read the guideTrade Corridor
Re-exporting from Dubai to Africa: using a UAE company as your trading hub
Buy from Asia, hold stock in Dubai, sell across Africa. When the hub model works, what 2026 changed, and the rules to check before you ship.
Read the guideTrade Corridor
The Kenya–UAE CEPA: what it means for Kenyan businesses
Signed in January 2025, the Kenya–UAE CEPA is not yet in force and has no tariff schedule. What it covers, and what Kenyan exporters should do now.
Read the insightTrade & Customs
Importing your first shipment into the UAE: a guide for new companies
A new company's first import tests the licence, the customs code and the paperwork. Here is the order to do it in, from registration to clearance.
Read the guideMarket Signal
The $14.8B signal: what Uber buying Talabat means for UAE food
Uber kept every Gulf operation in its Delivery Hero deal. What the consolidation signals for anyone weighing up the UAE food sector.
Read the analysisTrade Corridor
Ethiopian exporters and the UAE: your biggest market, barely tapped
The UAE is already Ethiopia's number one export destination. What to sell, the untapped value, and how we connect you with buyers.
Read the guideMarket Entry
Business setup in Dubai for Ethiopian and African entrepreneurs
A practical guide to structure, activity, visas, banking, tax, VAT, and import/export for African founders.
Read the guideIndustry
Industry Guide
Setting up a freight forwarding or logistics company in the UAE
Forwarding, brokerage and warehousing each need their own permissions. How to set up a UAE logistics company, which zones suit it, and the Africa angle.
Read the guideIndustry Guide
Setting up a consultancy in the UAE: activities, licences and credibility
Management, IT or HR consultancy? Which activities need approvals, where to license for government and corporate clients, and how to look established.
Read the guideIndustry Guide
Setting up a gold trading business in Dubai: licensing, sourcing and AML
Dubai is the world's second-largest gold hub and one of its most closely watched. Licensing, responsible sourcing and AML duties for gold traders.
Read the guideIndustry Guide
Starting a travel agency or tour operator in the UAE
Travel agency, inbound or outbound tour operator? The activities, approvals, free zone routes and IATA questions, and where the Africa–Gulf opportunity lies.
Read the guideIndustry Guide
From Ethiopian bean to UAE cup: starting a coffee business in the UAE
Import, roast, serve or brand? The UAE coffee market, the approvals behind each model, and how to build on Ethiopian origin.
Read the guideIndustry Guide
Starting an e-commerce business in the UAE: licences, platforms and the rules
Selling online in the UAE is now a licensed, regulated activity. The licence, the platforms, payments, consumer law and VAT, explained.
Read the guideIndustry Guide
Setting up a cloud kitchen business in the UAE
A delivery-first market heading past USD 1 billion. The opportunity, the multi-brand model, the economics, and the licence you need.
Read the guideIndustry Guide
Starting a jewellery business in the UAE
Prospects in the world's second largest gold hub, plus the licence you need: mainland vs free zone, activities, costs, AML, and VAT.
Read the guideExpoReach · Market Intelligence
UAE Trade Show Calendar 2026
36 tier one exhibitions across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah, with recommended coverage packages. Search, filter, and sort the full calendar.
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