Dubai’s become an entrepreneurial dreamland: here’s how

Dubai is a renowned destination for leisure and luxury seekers. With numerous larger-than-life buildings, astounding architecture and top-notch luxury services, it’s nothing short of a tourist’s wonderland.

Dubai’s appeal attracts a humungous market because of its central location that ensures year-round traffic form both sides of the globe. It is a natural nesting ground for companies looking to expand and operate in the Middle Eastern and African region, with the world-class infrastructure and communications network and a conducive environment assisting businesses grow every step of the way.

The government’s drive to diversify its revenue stream has already driven Dubai far away from dependency on oil and turned its economy into a powerhouse of job creation that attracts the best brains from all parts of the world.

Push start

With its economy sailing stably, Dubai is now planning to become the entrepreneurial capital of the world as well. The upcoming Expo 2020 [and its enormous potential] has already set in motion wheels that are turning Dubai into the place to set up a business.

Dubai has a rising population of 2.4 million and expected to grow to 3.4 million by 2020. This has already given impetus to dozens of companies and hundreds of business enthusiast to head to the city to cater to an affluent and growing market.

The cherry on the top is sure the diversity of Dubai’s population, 83% of which is foreign. This has created a consistent need for solutions custom-made to serve the various communities living harmoniously in Dubai.

And the stakes are set to go higher. Dubai is now planning to become the “smartest” city by 2017, opening doors to creativity, innovation and technology.

Dubai’s ruler and Vice President of UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum recently set up a fund worth $544 million that will assist innovators and entrepreneurs with the requisite funding to turn ideas into reality.

A multicultural society and initiatives like the innovation fund mean Dubai’s society not only welcomes foreigners, but new ideas and technologies as well.

Perception prevails

Dubai’s success in harboring a friendly environment for diverse commercial activities is also meeting world-wide positivity. Recently, a London Business School survey of regional executives acknowledged the UAE for its steadily growing market for entrepreneurship. Forbes named Dubai as the 40th best city worldwide fro doing business, while IMF has said UAE’s economy could outperform UK, US, Germany, Hong Kong and Singapore over the 2015-2020 period.

A study by INSEAD and HSBC released in September 2015 said UAE was among the top 10 countries globally for working for expats, while Dubai was named the second-best city in the world for expats wishing to start a business.

Hundreds of such expats and entrepreneurs have already found success in this magical city. Ideas such as Loco’Motion, a Dubai-based social enterprise that employs videography to bring important societal issues to civil attention and Lumba, a tech-startup that develops mobile games, are already garnering accolades, both domestically and internationally.

Dubai’s population is incredibly open to ideas that change lives for the better. And since entrepreneurship is such a rage in Dubai, how about building an application about entrepreneurship in Dubai?

That ought to lift your entrepreneurial spirits up.