Reasons to start your own business in Dubai

1. Rapid economic growth

According to the 2014 Metro-global Report, Dubai is the world’s fifth fastest growing city economy. When you consider that the city-state was ranked in 18th place the previous year, this is a massive 13-point jump – and it puts it way ahead of some other major cities, including London, which came in at number 26. And it must be pointed out that Dubai – despite what many around the world falsely think – does not owe all of this success to oil. Far from it, in fact, as it is the most successful economy in the United Arab Emirates to have diversified away from oil. A vast array of industries now contribute to the city’s success – from logistics to construction to commerce to tourism to trade – as more and more new businesses look to take advantage of the region’s stable and rapidly accelerating economy.

2. Large, available workforce

One of the biggest struggles when starting up any new enterprise is finding the right people to work with. Dubai wins again. Its liberal and cost-effective labor laws, along with its desirable working location, make it both easy and – perhaps most importantly – rather affordable, to recruit employees from almost anywhere in the world. The ease at which expatriate workers – who make up a staggering 90% of the city’s labor force – can enter and exit the UAE also makes it easier for businesses to scale their resources up and down as needed.

3. Location, infrastructure and reputation

Dubai’s location, infrastructure and business reputation – the jewel in the crown of the Emirates – makes it not only an ideal place to conduct business from, but also an incredibly easy place to attract business to. Situated at the heart of the global business behemoth that is the UAE, businesses in Dubai have unrivaled access to the 1.5 billion strong consumer markets of Africa, West Asia, Eastern Europe and the neighboring Middle Eastern countries. As thousands of new businesses discover each year, Dubai lies at the gateway between East and West, making it one of the most popular destinations for trade and investment around the world. The city’s state of the art transport links – which include two of the region’s largest ports and the Arab world’s largest airline – also provide outstanding physical links to rest of the world, cementing its place at the epicenter of the global economy.

4. Low barriers to entry and support from the government

Aside from the outside factors that make now a great time to launch a startup in Dubai, the actual mechanics of setting up a business make it an attractive proposition as well.

Registering a new business is incredibly straightforward and affordable, and can be achieved in a matter of weeks. What’s more, the government’s low-barriers to entry and business-focused policies help to incentivize investment in new businesses, as well as facilitate trade links within the Emirates and throughout the rest of the world. In fact, the government of the UAE places new business at the heart of its plan for long-term economic stability, which is reflected in its favorable business regulations and its state-of-the-art investment infrastructure designed to support small and growing organisations.

5. Taxation

Finally, it would be impossible to talk about the benefits of doing business in Dubai without mentioning taxation – or better to say lack of it. With the exception of the oil and banking industries, corporate tax for businesses in Dubai remains at a flat rate of zero – offering an unrivalled competitive advantage when it comes to trading with the rest of the world.