Masdar City has announced new licences to encourage entrepreneurs to set up their businesses within its free zone, empowering UAE start-ups to bring their innovative ideas in clean technology and sustainability to market.

The announcement was made at the 36th Gulf Information Technology Exhibition, GITEX, currently taking place at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

"Masdar City is nurturing the region’s first dedicated clean-tech cluster, anchored by a research institute specialising in advanced energy and sustainable technologies," said Mohammed Al Fardan, Director of the Masdar City Free Zone. "These additional business benefits will incentivise local start-ups and encourage more UAE national entrepreneurs to enter the private sector, while at the same supporting the city’s overall mandate to connect education with research and development and business with investment."

The benefits of the new free zone licences for individuals that qualify now include permission for individuals to register as businesses at the Masdar City free zone, as well as companies and subsidiary branches. Other features include minimum share capital requirements waived, lower free zone registration charges, lower charges to lease single-desk office space, known as ‘hot desks’, standard requirement to provide a bank or employee guarantee when issuing a UAE residence visa waived, and direct access to tenant and client networking events at Masdar City, as well as access to a dedicated business community portal.

Existing free zone benefits include 100 percent foreign ownership, exemption from corporate and personal income taxes and zero percent import tariffs, as well as access to research and development partnerships through the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology.

"Our latest initiative strengthens Masdar City’s appeal to future clean energy entrepreneurs, and to the growing cadre of business-minded UAE nationals graduating from Masdar Institute. GITEX Technology Week is an ideal platform to promote Masdar City’s highly competitive services to the region’s emerging clean-tech business community," Al Fardan concluded.

We accept Guest Posts