UAE small business licenses jump 140% since 2020 as startup push pays off

Active small-business licences across the UAE have risen by more than 140% since 2020 and by over 900% since 2000, reflecting a sharp expansion in entrepreneurship as national policy pushes to make the country a global startup hub. Small and medium-sized firms now account for roughly 95% of all companies in the UAE and provide more than 85% of private-sector jobs, Ministry of Economy and Tourism figures reviewed at a recent meeting of the UAE Council for Entrepreneurship show.

"Entrepreneurship and small business as central to the UAE's economic planning, calling them essential to growth, diversification, and the shift toward an innovation-driven, knowledge-based economy," said Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, who chaired the council session.

The meeting focused on broadening outreach beyond major urban centres through the "Mobile Accelerators in Villages" initiative, which aims to bring licensing, incubation and market access closer to founders working outside the country’s main commercial hubs. Council members discussed streamlining licensing, facilitating access to premises and capital, expanding incubation services and linking rural entrepreneurs to sales channels and buyers.

• Campaign results cited at the session included training and qualifying over 400 Emirati men and women and enrolling 214 citizens in the Riyada program, which achieved a 97% satisfaction rate.
• Forty-one government initiatives were rolled out across nine areas with 10 partner organisations operating in five emirates.
• Government procurement linked to the campaign amounted to AED 202 million, including AED 78.6 million from 55 contracts with seven government bodies and AED 123.4 million at the federal level.
• Additional outputs recorded: 405 businesses joined the suppliers’ registry, 30 real estate firms received incubation support, 46 tax agents were registered, 40 project management specialists were licensed, 49 people were assisted through the Emirati Families Program, and 100 student projects were supported.

Councillors also reviewed recommendations developed with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development aimed at aligning UAE entrepreneurship and SME policy with international best practice. Those recommendations rest on four pillars—financing, innovation, internationalisation and measurement—together with continued reform of the legal and regulatory framework. Members debated prioritisation of the recommendations, division of implementation responsibilities between federal and local authorities, and metrics for gauging impact post-launch.

The council tied the programme review to outcomes from "The Emirates: The Startup Capital of the World," a campaign launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in September 2025. Abdulla bin Touq highlighted the campaign’s tangible returns as evidence the UAE’s policy mix is reinforcing its appeal to founders and investors worldwide.

Looking ahead, officials signalled plans to scale the Mobile Accelerators in Villages and to embed the council’s roadmap in a national entrepreneurship strategy focused on governance, monitoring and sustainable SME growth. If implemented, the measures aim to reduce practical barriers—licensing, premises, financing and market access—that currently limit small firms outside metropolitan centres and to maintain momentum behind the sharp rise in SME participation recorded since 2000.