The UAE’s rapid economic development has rendered start-up incubators an important component of the business climate. It can be an immense challenge to start up a company from scratch, except even with the most accomplished business owner. Today, business incubation and startup incubators are not only beneficial but required, with too many people from around the world coming to the UAE to discover the vast opportunities.
Locally, a range of initiatives has been taken to foster entrepreneurship and start-ups in the UAE, especially Dubai. The most current of these is the development of company incubators. Enterprise incubators are able to offer a variety of resources, including the requisite entrepreneurial workspace, consulting and business creation advice, and encouragement for the introduction of technologies and the use of the new technology in product development.
What is Business Incubation?
Company incubation is all about offering resources, to put it simply. You get help to make the concept into practice, to start up a corporation, to prepare your route to market activities, to get your clients, to handle financing, and to expand organically. The position of learning hubs is not just a workspace, but incubators often play, cultivating innovative & tech minds under the same roof. Incubators function as a forum for institutional companies & policymakers to hire new start-ups ready to start. Start-up incubators in the UAE have state-of-the-art technology for the flawless operation of companies with world-class facilities. For start-ups from diverse industries, the funding of such incubators may be quite beneficial.
Stages of Business Incubation
There are four main stages of incubation of any business. These are:
Planning the Business
For its feasibility, the proposal is assessed. All facets of the feasibility and profitability are analyzed and recorded in a transparent plan by the market incubation service provider, right from identifying the needs that the idea sets out to solve, to how it can be manifested in practice, to the sort of people with whom it seeks to interact, and the geographies. Some of the main resources supported by the company incubation service at this point include:
- Help with business basics
- Market Research and Feasibility Studies
Launching the Business
In business incubation, the next step includes the establishment of a trade license. This approach requires the description of the proper legal framework, the correct business operations that are mapped to the business strategy, and the position of the office needed to set up your business. In this process, the company incubation business helps you with services such as:
- Setting up your business
- Delivering an office leasing solution
- Opening your bank account
- PRO Services
- Accounting/Bookkeeping services
- Marketing Consultancy
- Helping with regulatory compliance
Managing the Business
You need the correct operational support from the business incubation service company on several aspects after setting up the business, including, but not limited to, training your employees, developing your lead generation mechanism, building your brand awareness, and most importantly, converting efforts into quantifiable revenue. This business incubation support is delivered through certain services, such as:
- Access to bank loans, loan funds, and guarantee programs
- Links to higher education resources
- Links to strategic partners
- Advisory boards and mentors
- Management team identification
Growing the Business
The last stage in the business incubation process involves obtaining funding, expanding your business, or growing product/service lines
How to Get Funding for Your Startup/Business in Dubai?
Bringing a company off the ground needs funds. The essence and scale of your company can depend on just how much. Here are three ways to collect it in Dubai, if you need capital to launch your business.
Save: It seems straightforward, but there are plenty of better ideas. Plan in advance if you know the company is going to require money. Establish a slush fund for costs of about three months if necessary. One is that you have set up the pot; you will launch your company with the faith that you have the money to back it up.
Apply for Funding: In Dubai, there are lots of ways to get funding. Many of the start-up centers and incubators in the Emirate give awards and grants to the most ambitious start-ups. Alternatively, a range of projects and systems aimed at helping start-ups get off the ground is provided by the UAE government.
Start on a Shoestring: It may be that you don’t require funding at all. In Dubai, there are several ways to start a low-cost venture, utilizing coworking space and freelancers to hold overheads low where feasible. Before seeking financing farther along the road, like GitHub, Mailchimp, and eBay, several of the world’s largest corporations started by bootstrapping.
100% Ownership in Dubai Offered on Incubator License
In Dubai, budding entrepreneurs will be delighted to know that they can apply for a new company license that will give them complete ownership. Dubai SME, an entity of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai, has launched a new regulation awarding 100% ownership under its incubator company license to developers, start-ups, and SMEs operating in mainland Dubai. This regulation promotes the organization’s initiatives to grow and cultivate the entrepreneurial community of Dubai, although the move has also increased the ease of doing business in Dubai and has enabled SMEs to draw further investment from both local and international countries.
Requirements to Start Business Incubator in Dubai
In order to start a startup or business incubator in Dubai, there are certain requirements that need to be fulfilled. These requirements are mentioned below:
- It is mandatory for the applicant to be a citizen of the UAE
- The business incubator should be owned and managed by a national of the UAE
- The business incubator must be located in Dubai
- During the exemption period, only one incubator license will be issued
- In case of applying for an existing business, the business should not be more than three years old since its inception
- The maximum number of trade licenses issued per applicant prior to submitting a membership application should not exceed 4
Required Documents for Business Incubator Formation
Following are the documents that are required for forming and setting up a business incubator in Dubai:
- CV of the owner/applicant
- Diploma or Certificates in case of consultancy license only
- UAE Passport/Family Book of the owner/applicant
Advantages of Business Incubation
Many advantages of startup incubators make it the best option for businesses that are just starting up. They are just like a platform where the bright minds come up with the most innovative ideas which they churn into successful business later. Such platforms often provide a complete plug-n-play setup that lets startups start with their work after purchasing the membership. Thus, they let entrepreneurs focus on the core tasks by refining their ideas. Some advantages are:
- Your idea gets an identity and a business to go with it
- You get clear guidance and mentorship
- Your idea gets the right business direction
- Your business costs and expenses are optimized, so your idea generates value for investors
- Your business gets support well beyond just going “live”
How We Can Help You?
All phases of the start-up market cycle are carefully controlled through business incubation, from the innovation stage to the business stage to the sustenance stage to development and ultimately explosion. Reach out to our business advisory experts at Riz and Mona Consultancy, we would be delighted to lead you through the initial phases of your thinking method.
