Entrepreneurship has developed over the last decade in Dubai due to the expansion of the economy and the existence of several business opportunities. In the year 2015, approximately 210, 000 small businesses were started but 187, 580 were still running by the end of the year. This represents a success rate of 67% with the failure rate averaging at 33%. This paper will examine how Dubai supports innovation and entrepreneurship.
The authorities in the city of Dubai have rolled out a series of initiatives to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. These initiatives include funding, strengthening the business interaction environment, promotion of innovation, remodeling of the intellectual property rights, and provision of ready market.
As part of the entrepreneurship promotion strategy, the government in Dubai has made it easy for potential entrepreneurs to access startup capital through a partnership with the local banks to provide cheap loans within the Sheria laws. These loans are easy to access and have very low-interest rates (Kotler and Keller 19). Therefore, capital for a startup business is very easy to access in Dubai.
Through public and private partnerships, the local authority and businesses in Dubai have created sustainable technology incubators that promote technological innovation as part of the general entrepreneurship (Mariotti 31). In Dubai, the opportunities for business incubation and technological innovation have expanded by more than five times in the last five years due to expanding business space as part of the trade policy.
The business laws in Dubai have been modified and aligned to the business needs through intellectual property rights. This means that a business that intends to launch a new product can patent the brand name and ingredient through the Dubai trade regulation authorities (Sidani 413). As a result, entrepreneurs are assured of the right of their innovations since the anti-counterfeit laws are very strict on product identification. The patent rights prevent unethical business practices such as double registration of a similar product brand. These laws have acted as the pull factors for local and international businesses since they are guaranteed protection of their ideas.
The local political and social systems in Dubai have been remodeled to be more accommodative and flexible to different types of entrepreneurship products (Rhim and Lee 177). For instance, an entrepreneur interested in the Dubai market can register his or her business within a day. Besides, the tax regime or cost of doing business in Dubai is one of the cheapest among the top ten major cities across the world (Samia 15).
The friendly licensing and tax regime has created an ideal environment for innovation since entrepreneurs are sure that their interests are taken care of by the government. Besides, the political environment in Dubai is very peaceful and is expected to remain the same in the foreseeable future. This situation guarantees minimal business risks associated with political instability (Thi and Ping 594). The government system in Dubai has attractive business incentives for entrepreneurs such as tax holidays, modern business premises, ready market, and cheap labor (Mariotti 31).
Works Cited
Kotler, Philip, and Kevin Keller. Marketing Management, New Jersey, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2012. Print.
Mariotti, Steve. Entrepreneurship: Starting and Operating a Small Business, New York: Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.
Rhim, Hosus, and Chan Lee. “Assessing Potential Threats to Incumbent Brands: New Product Positioning under Price Competition in a Multi Segmented Markets.” International Journal of Research in Marketing, 22.1 (2005): 159-182. Print.
Samia, Kargwell. “Factors Influencing the First Generation Entrepreneurs: An Analytical Study on the Graduates of UAE Universities.” International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4.5 (2014): 12-19. Print.
Sidani, Baalbaki. “United Arab Emirates Female Entrepreneurs: Motivations and Frustrations.” An International Journal, 30.5 (2011): 409-424. Print.
Thi, Nguyen, and Hwei Ping. “The Effects of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Marketing Information on Performance of SMEs.” Journal of Business Venturing 22.2 (2007): 592-611. Print.