When I first moved to Abu Dhabi and started out as an entrepreneur, I had a lot of questions. Where do I start? What’s the best way to get clients? How much does it cost to startup? What licenses do I need? Will anyone even want my services? Thanks to the help from several amazing mentors who guided me every step of the way, I started my business and helped hundreds of entrepreneurs do the same.
If you live in Abu Dhabi or are moving here soon to start up your business, you don’t have to feel alone. Here’s how you can set up your business in Abu Dhabi within 5 minutes a day:
6 months ago, I met a lady who told me about her frustrating experience of setting up a business here in Abu Dhabi. She experienced that unnecessary paperwork was the main reason she wasted so much time, effort, and money that could otherwise be spent on growing her business.
So I decided to start this series on how to set up your own business with as little hassle as possible!
Step 1: Choose a Business Name
The first step in setting up your business is to choose a business name. For all intents and purposes, you need a local partner to run the daily operations of your company, so it’s essential that you maintain a professional image. If you’re going for an English name (which most entrepreneurs do), choose a name that is short, simple, and easy to spell. Here are some examples:
- Taylor Made Solutions
- New York Marketing Co.
- iTec IT Support
Avoid names that might mislead people into thinking your company is based outside Abu Dhabi or affiliated with a multinational corporation. If you’re going for an Arabic name, follow the same rule of thumb, but you have more freedom when it comes to the length of your name.
Here are some examples for Arabic names:
My own company is called هايف الدولي (Hai Al Dawli) which means “international wave.”
Step 2: Register Your Business at the Economic Department
Once you have a business name, the next step is to register your company at the Economic Department. The easiest way to do this is by calling them up and setting up an appointment to submit all your required documents in person. They told me it’s usually easier to accomplish this within Abu Dhabi city limits because they are swamped with paperwork and people from other emirates can wait up to 2 months for their registration. I went to the branch located in Muroor and applied on the same day.
What you’ll need:
Two copies of your passport (and residence visa if applicable) Two copies of your certificate of incorporation (I attached mine here but they told me that they don’t need it) Application form (they’ll provide you with one when you get there) Registration fee: 45 dirhams
Also Read About LLC company formation in Dubai and the UAE (2021 guide)
Step 3: Get a trade license and business visa
You can apply for your trade license and business visa at the same time. But if you want to keep things separate, remember that your trade license takes only 1 day to process while your business visa can take up to 2 weeks.
What you’ll need:
Duplicate copy of the company registration document (provided by the Economics Department) Company incorporation certificate (provided by your company formation agent) Original trade license application form (provided when you submit all your paperwork in person at the Economic Department) Two passport-sized photographs of the company administrator Three copies of your business visa application form (provided when you submit all your paperwork in person at the Economic Department)
Step 4: Open a Bank Account
For obvious reasons, it’s important that you have a bank account to receive payments from your clients. But for this, I recommend choosing a bank that also offers additional services such as online invoicing and payment solutions. Here are some suggestions:
Arab National Bank (ANB)- The only full-service local bank in Abu Dhabi First Gulf Bank (FGB) HSBC Mashreq
Step 5: Formulate a Business Plan
Now that you have all the administrative paperwork out of the way, you need a business plan to map out your company’s future goals and success factors. But a business plan is not just a PowerPoint presentation or executive summary of your company. It should ideally function as a tripod where all three legs are equally important:
Vision Mission Business Model
And don’t forget that once you have the business plan, you need to review it annually. If reviews are not done on a regular basis, business plans become obsolete and outdated very quickly.
Step 6: Hire Employees
You need at least one full-time employee who will be responsible for all administrative tasks in your company. I recommend hiring someone with prior experience working in an office environment. This is because they will be familiar with the administrative procedures of a local company and you don’t want to spend time teaching them how to do their own job.
What you’ll need:
Two passport-sized photographs Employee visa application form (provided when submitting your paperwork in person at the Economic Department)
Step 7: Write a Business Plan
Now that you have all the administrative paperwork out of the way, you need a business plan to map out your company’s future goals and success factors. But a business plan is not just a PowerPoint presentation or executive summary of your company. It should ideally function as a tripod where all three legs are equally important:
Vision Mission Business Model
And don’t forget that once you have the business plan, you need to review it annually. If reviews are not done on a regular basis, business plans become obsolete and outdated very quickly.