The UAE has been ranked first in the in the region, and fourth globally in the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) 2020 by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM – NECI), climbing up from its fifth ranking in the 2019 report. The country has made some very sweeping changes to its systems, to make it entrepreneur friendly.

The process of starting your business can however be slightly overwhelming. To tackle this, Etisalat has collaborated with some of the top companies in the region at its Hello Business Hub, the region’s first one-stop destination to help you start your business. From registration to helping you manage your operations and all the related services; the Hello Business Hub works with these experienced teams to help new business owners get better value.

Depending on the type of business you want to setup, how you want to grow and expand, the team at Hello Business Hub will help you select the option that is right for you. In partnership with Virtuzone, the team will make the company formation process affordable and simple.

To complete trade licensing processes, a start-up will require an office space rental. This will depend on whether they are applying for a mainland or free-zone trade license; each of which have multiple solutions available, from permanent office space to options of flexi-desks.

As part of extended services from Etisalat, Hello Business Hub can also help these start-ups manage their communications systems and set up digital marketing as well.

Since May 2020, the GDRFA officials have been opened centers that allow people renew visa, apply for an entry permit and Emirates ID services. Once you have your trade license, you need to process your Visa, UAE ID and Dubai Health Authority (DHA) requirements. Hello Business Hub has a team that can get these papers processed in line with government regulations to finalise residency and work permits everyone in the business.

In addition, the team at Hello Business Hub offer assistance with other HR related services including insurance for the team and business-related insurance like liability insurance among others.

Setting up a bank account here in the UAE can be a challenge for startups. Not necessarily for those working through the team at Hello Business Hub. They have partnered with RAKBank to help guide businesses through the process of setting up their banking.

The team can take it a step further and advice the businesses around VAT. Digital Tax is a service from Hello Business Hub enabling small businesses to remain compliant with FTA for their VAT-related needs. Built on state-of-the-art cloud technology, the platform helps process business' input and output taxes to generate tax filing reports for submission to FTA.

Whatever your needs, do your research and find the resources and systems that are right for you. In their commitment to helping the knowledge and start up ecosystem, make sure you check out Etisalat’s Hello Business Hub too.