The United Arab Emirates has been making an untiring effort to make support, as well as promote small to medium-sized businesses as it is believed that these businesses a lot bring a lot of innovation and employment in the region. In a recent survey named ‘Entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa 2017’, has reflected on the population of the region who prefer to be self-employed and start a business and those who would rather seek employment in a company. 55% of the people residing in the UAE prefer to have a business enterprise of their own and be self-employed if they are given a choice to choose. In point of reality, even among the individuals who are currently employed in a company, 78% out of them stated that they are either thinking of starting a business or have attempted to do so in the near past.
When the respondents of the survey were asked the reasons for opting to be self-employed, 49%, which makes approximately half of them out of the population prefer self-employment for self-fulfillment, some stated that self-employment gives them the freedom to have a choice in what they want to work on and about 42% believe that self-employment gives them a freedom to balance between work and life easily. As well as those individuals who have already started a business of their own stated the same reasons. Other than that, the survey showed an even greater influence of entrepreneurship on economies and societies. Entrepreneurs hold an extremely positive image in the UAE, as they are believed to create jobs, bring innovation in society and others continue to say that entrepreneurs even bring new products and services for the betterment of the region.
For the expertise and skills needed to start and run a business of your own, working and learning under a company in the past helps to a lot of extents. An organization is believed to be a career ladder for the employees who means to start a business at one time or another in their life. No matter the number of skills an individual possesses, working under an organization can help them polish their skills and discover and unleash their hidden talents. The day to day operations in an organization proves to be a learning experience, open their eyes to new possibilities and up-skill their talents. This, in turn, strengthens the base of a future employee and helps them in determining a successful route to incorporate their own business one day at a global or international level. So, the first step to starting your own business is employment under a company.
Business Set up In Dubai
Setting up a business in Dubai is an excellent idea. The journey of setting up a business and starting the process of it demands courage, untiring dedication, and patience. Furthermore, international exposure for any business only further proves to be a boon and enhances the process of building the brand’s value. Dubai is one of the world’s most vibrant and rich in immigrants and expats city and it has mastered itself in the art of setting up and building a business and has been successfully established as a business hub offering a range of options which include job opportunities to choices of company formation. Because of its rich marketplace, Dubai stands on the 21st rank on the list of ease of doing business. Among the choices of setting up a business, the city incorporates multiple free trade zones that motivate and provokes people to build their own businesses. The fact that Dubai holds a strategic location for both established businesses and start-ups attracts a lot of entrepreneurs.
I’m sure, you must be thinking now if a working employee can initiate their own business in the region, then the answer to your question is definitely yes!
How Can An Employee Start A Business In UAE?
Before we get on to explaining the process of starting a business while being a full-time employee in a company, let’s make sure we are all aware of the fact that the UAE has emerged as a business hub luring in investments from all over the world because of the facilities provided in free trade zones that allow 100% ownership of their companies to foreigners. Whereas, mainland companies in Dubai require at least one local partner. The city of Dubai incorporates more than 30 free zones, and more in making, making it the most favourable city to open up a business in.
The most important factor for working employees in setting up a business in Dubai is obtaining a No Objection Letter (NOC) from the company they are an employee in. What is the trickiest part of setting up a company for working employees is obtaining a NOC from their companies as a lot of companies deny or do not allow their employees to have a No Objection Letter (NOC). But there is a solution for that as well in the United Arab Emirate. UAE holds five free trade zones that do not require a NIC from employees to start heir business, those free zones are:
- Sharjah Media City (SHAMS) Free Zone
- Umm al-Quwain (UAQ) Free Trade Zone
- Fujairah Free Trade Zone
- Ajman Free Zone
- Creative City Fujairah
How To Obtain A NOC?
As the process of obtaining a NOC for employees is somewhat tricky and long, here is the step by step to get the job done:
- File a request via Dubai Trade Portal
- Submit the documents required
- Pay AED 500 as NOC issuance fee
- Get a NOC approval from Department of Economic Development (DED)
After the NOC is obtained, the document is required to be saved in the company’s record. On the other hand, if the company denies an employee No Objection Letter (NOC), they still have another option to start their company by forming the company on the name of their spouse and name them as Managing Director.
Documents Required For NOC
Listed down below are the documents that are required to be submitted in order to obtain a NOC from the working company:
- Passport copies of all the partners
- A copy of the company’s name reservation
- Copy of the company’s Article Of Association (AOA) and Memorandum Of Association (MOA)
- Bank or cash guarantee of AED 50,000
- Undertaking letter signed by the UAE partner
Once the NOC has been obtained successfully by the business, the individual has the flexible opportunity to form a business in any part of the UAE. In case an employee fails to obtain a NOC, free trade zones which do not require a NOC from employee’s companies are here to save the day. So, the real question is not whether the employee gets a NOC or not, the real question is if the employee is ready to carry ahead as an investor of a company and undertake all the responsibilities in the future.
Do Freelancers Require A NOC To Start A Business In Dubai?
In case you are a freelancer in your field and do not work under a specific company or employer, you will not be required to provide a NOC from any local sponsor to start a business. A freelancer can start off as a freelancer, without a physical office space, and upgrade to company formation later on in their career.
