Running a business without adequate data security is a massive risk. Crippling data breaches are increasingly common and no business is immune. In 2018, Dubai’s fastest growing startup – Careem – was hit by a cyberattack affecting 14 million users. SMEs are especially...
Setting up and running a business in the UAE comes with all sorts of opportunities – the country is brimming with entrepreneurial activity with The Department of Economic Development in Dubai issuing 20,467 new licences in 2018. However, with opportunity comes...
If you are a startup with a unique business idea, product or technology, it’s generally recommended that you copyright your idea, rather than trademark it. Find out why. Over the past decade, applications for intellectual property (IP) protection in the UAE have risen...
Starting a business requires capital. And, unless you’ve got oodles of cash lying around, you’re going to need access to money which will support you through those first tough months until you start turning a profit. For many entrepreneurs, one straightforward option...
Registering your company’s trademark in the UAE will protect your brand and ensure that no other company in your category can imitate your intellectual property. Around 70% of trademarks in the UAE are owned by non-residents, showing that international entrepreneurs...
The first day of 2018 is remembered by many in the UAE for the wave of anxiety and confusion that spread across the country as Value Added Tax (VAT) launched for the first time. This has been a huge change for all businesses in the region, especially smaller ones. So...
As this is the first month of the new VAT regulations in the UAE, business owners across the Emirates are bracing themselves for big change. Historically the UAE has operated one of the simplest taxation systems in the world. But in order to reduce its reliance on...
With Value Added Tax fast approaching, businesses cannot afford to delay the process of becoming VAT compliant much longer. The first step towards this is registering for VAT and failing to do so prior to the deadline comes with a substantial penalty. So, who needs to...
For foreign entrepreneurs lured by the potential bounty of doing business in the UAE mainland (as opposed to one of the free zones), the landscape can be somewhat bewildering at first. Especially so for the 68% of business starters in the UAE who have never run a...
Is it boom time for VAT specialists in the UAE? Following the announcement last year that the UAE will introduce VAT on the 1st of January 2018, those of us working here must prepare for a huge shift in the economic and financial landscape. In most cases it will not...
Note this article also appeared in Entrepreneur Middle East and can be found here. No entrepreneur starts a business believing they are going to go bankrupt. But while solid business strategy and a good team can see you through just about any challenge, the...