23 Oct
Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority launches Sandbox programme to support early-stage tech startups
The programme operated by the Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus will offer services worth over Dhs550,000
The Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA) has launched Sandbox, a startup programme that supports early-stage technology startups to scale and raise funds.
The 12-month programme run by the Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus (Dtec), DSOA’s wholly owned tech hub and coworking space, is open to early-stage startups from MVP to seed stage, with a rolling application process.
Enrolled entrepreneurs will follow a structured curriculum which includes theoretical and practical workshops, mentorship sessions and networking opportunities that will help them grow their startups.
Dtec has dedicated a funding purse to be invested in promising startups of the programme. Dtec is offering Sandbox participants exclusive company setup rates, equivalent to Dhs9,500. The programme will provide each participant access to leading venture capital funds, and broad services provided by DSOA’s partners worth more than Dhs550,000, according to the Dubai Media Office.
Sandbox is built on six key pillars: product development, traction, scaling, financial diagnostics, wellbeing and legal support.
Startups enrolled in the programme will benefit from over 200 hours of practical workshops and more than 100 hours of one-on-one mentorship from practitioners and field-experts.
Entrepreneurs will also have access to a full suite of diagnostic tools for financial efficiency and legal compliance.
Dtec offers coworking spaces, business accelerators, R&D facilities, event spaces and digital business setup support including licensing. It houses more than 1,000 startups from 75 countries. Through the centre, DSOA supports entrepreneurs, startups and innovators, especially those that operate in the technology, Ai and digitalisation spaces.
“The launch of the Sandbox startup programme coincides with the Projects of the 50, a strategic set of initiatives that will lay the foundations for a new development cycle in various economic sectors. All these projects position the nation as a destination for talents, skilled individuals, entrepreneurs, startup founders, innovators and investors,” said Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, vice chairman and CEO of DSOA.
“Dubai Silicon Oasis, and its wholly owned Dtec, have extensive experience as a tech hub and an incubator for entrepreneurs and startups, supporting them in transforming their innovative ideas into reality and empowering them in securing financing. The programme is the first of its kind in the region, founder-centric, addressing a gap in early-stage initiatives.”
Source:https://gulfbusiness.com/dubai-silicon-oasis-authority-launches-sandbox-programme-to-support-early-stage-tech-startups/
18 Oct
UAE’s sole establishments and family business owners have a VAT status to tackle
A number of family business owners in the UAE have multiple business interests out of which some are structured under a holding company format while others could be sole proprietorships/establishments of the family members.
Such non-company establishments are kept when the family members have businesses that are independent of the overall family business, leading to alienation of their personal interests. We look at two issues that have emerged for sole establishments in the last three plus years since VAT was introduced.
First, the separate VAT registration granted to independent sole establishments and, second, the issue of VAT grouping of such sole establishments with the llc entities of family business. At the time of the introduction of VAT, the UAE Federal Tax Authority allowed a large number of individual owners to VAT register each of their sole establishments as separate entities and given separate Tax Registration Numbers (TRNs).
Do way with multiple TRNs
The FTA later clarified that sole establishments are not independent of their owners and, consequently, there shouldn’t be separate TRNs issued to them. As part of one ownership, they are supposed to be given one TRN.
The FTA clearly mentioned that where separate TRNs have been issued to different sole establishments, the owner need not do anything on his own. Rather, the FTA will itself pick up such cases and instruct the owner to carry out the needed amendments.
It has been observed that the FTA advises owners having multiple sole establishments to retain a single TRN for all entities and de-register the rest. This is specifically seen in VAT registration amendment applications where the FTA has sought a declaration from the owner to confirm if he or she has other sole establishments.
A cumbersome process
Two points emerge from this issue. First, should owners wait for the FTA to come back and instruct them to make amendments to their VAT registrations, specifically when they know that such request would anyways come when any application for TRN amendment is filed with the FTA?
The second – and bigger – issue that would arise from getting one TRN for all the entities and de-register the rest is the hassle of informing vendors and customers of the new TRN (for all sole establishments), making amendments in the banking channels, potential non-recovery of VAT on invoices the vendors may issue using the old TRN. An elaborate way would have to be entered into to ensure no disruption of work.
The FTA in 2018 had also allowed the sole establishments to become part of the VAT group. Technically – and as clarified by the FTA in the VAT Guide – individual owners are natural persons and not legal persons, and natural persons are not allowed to be VAT grouped.
Legal vs. natural
So effectively, some of the sole establishments that are owned by individuals – and therefore to be treated as natural persons – have inadvertently become a part of the VAT group with other llc entities. It is possible that some of the sole establishments that are part of the VAT group could be non-functional and may not have any business activity.
In that case, there is a strong probability of the FTA imposing a penalty for continuing to have a non-functional entity registered for VAT. The imminent need for family business groups is to assess if any sole establishments are still part of the VAT group and, if yes, de-register and register it as an independent sole establishment.
While registering it as a sole establishment, it is important to ensure that the owner does not have any other sole establishment that could already be VAT registered. Similarly, the possibility of converting the sole establishments into llcs could also be explored to avoid having all the sole establishments under one TRN.
Source:https://gulfnews.com/business/markets/uaes-sole-establishments-and-family-business-owners-have-a-vat-status-to-tackle-1.82941024
16 Oct
UAE, South Korea begin talks to boost trade ties
Dubai – The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the UAE and South Korea will include deals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop green technology, South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-Koo
The UAE and South Korea on Thursday began discussions on further bolstering their trade and investment partnership with a new comprehensive agreement.
Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Yeo Han-Koo, South Korean Minister for Trade, discussed the prospect of pursuing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to strengthen economic ties, enhance investment opportunities and mark a new era of bilateral cooperation with one of Asia’s most important markets.
The UAE-South Korea’s largest trading partner in the Arab world with a bilateral trade value of $9.4 billion in 2020 — has already started negotiations on two such deals, following the launch of talks with India and Indonesia in September. CEPA talks underscore the UAE’s ambition to move fast by striking new trade agreements with high-growth markets in Africa and Asia under a clear social and economic strategy for the next 50 years.
“We are working around the clock to consolidate the UAE’s position as a global trade and logistics hub that connects the world to the broader region and beyond,” Dr. Al Zeyoudi said.
15 Oct
UAE – Best place to do Business
The UAE promises immense business opportunities as well as substantial rewards on investment across a diverse field of sectors, experts said at an event on Sunday.
In a knowledge session titled ‘UAE: Land of Opportunities’, organised by MBG Corporate Services along with the BeNeLux and Netherlands Business Council, several experts highlighted various opportunities for European businesses in the country. The session drew the participation of several high-level delegations, government representatives, and officials from various international trade councils who were in Dubai for the Expo 2020 exhibition.
Nienke Gelderloos, Economic Advisor for Expo at the Consulate-General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Dubai, started the session with a keynote on the Netherlands Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.
“We think that there are plenty of opportunities here in the UAE, and we have taken an umbrella approach in selecting all the companies that will be exhibiting at Expo 2020 Dubai under the theme ‘Uniting Water, Energy and Food’,” she said. “Eight years ago, when the UAE won the bid to host the Expo, we decided on this theme because it was relevant, and it is still relevant today, and will be for the decades to come. Water, energy, and food are vital resources for life on earth, and we need to be smart about how we go about using them.”
“If we are to sustain a growing population of billions, then we really need to change things,” she added. “We think that the sustainable solutions that we are showcasing at the pavilion are smart and the approach that we have taken is to connect businesses and the opportunities that they see. Solar panels on the roof provide the energy to power a water making machine that harvests water from the air – we harvest up to 800 litres of clean water a day – which we then use to grow food such as edible plants on the exterior and oyster mushrooms in the interior of the pavilion’s 18m vertical farm.”
Shailendra Ranjan, director of MBG, in his presentation looked back on the history of the UAE and the strides that it had made since the formation of the union. He noted that the UAE leadership has already developed a vision of how to take the country forward from where it was today under the UAE Centennial 2071, which is based on four key pillars including: a future-focused government; excellent education; a diversified knowledge economy; and a happy and cohesive society.
The UAE Centennial 2071 is a five-decade vision for future generations that includes the development of a national strategy to enhance the country’s reputation and soft power; ensuring diverse sources of government revenue other than oil; investing in advanced technology based education; instilling ethics and values in future generations; increasing productivity of the national economy; and enhancing community cohesion.
“There are several factors that have gone into building the UAE into what it is today,” said Ranjan. “These include a stable political environment; its position as a strategic trade hub; multiple free zones; and business friendly ownership policies. All of these will go a long way in transforming the UAE over the next few years.”
The UAE, despite being a small nation, attracts the largest FDI, not only in the GCC region, but across the Mena region as well, he added. “All of this has led to a flurry of activity across various sectors. The oil and gas sector immediately comes to mind, but beyond this there are other sectors that see a healthy dose of activity such as financial services, e-commerce, hospitality, retail, education, manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare.”
Serious investors, he said, are spoiled for choice when choosing where to invest. One sector that has always proven to be popular with investors is the real estate sector in Dubai. “As of 2020, the UAE’s real estate sector was valued at $101.45 billion. Between 2020 and 2025, the sector is anticipated to grow at a rate of 3.8 per cent per year. The sector has its ups and downs and we know that if there is not a boom in the next two to three years, then there is going to be a boom in the next five to ten years.”
Another sector that promises good returns, he said, is the e-commerce sector, which saw accelerated growth during the lockdowns and the pandemic, as people took to shopping online for all their needs. The UAE’s e-commerce market is expected to grow to $17 billion by 2025. Ranjan predicted that there would be more balance in the sector moving forward as the UAE is a country which enjoys the brick and mortar shopping experience. However, the growth of the population in the country and the surrounding economies would result in steady growth for the sector.
Source:https://www.khaleejtimes.com/corporate/uae-best-place-to-do-business
