LONDON: The Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy has announced the launch of a new set of incentives designed to support the development of the tech sector in the city.
The government body, one of three operating under the umbrella of Dubai Chambers, will offer a one-stop shop initiative for digital startups to entice them to the city as it seeks to double the tech industry’s contribution to gross domestic product over the next decade.
Omar Al Olama, the UAE’s minister of state for artificial intelligence, the digital economy and remote work applications, and director general of the Prime Minister’s Office, said at a press event on Monday: “What we are announcing today is our intention to establish a holistic platform that includes all the incentives for digital economy companies that are setting up and are currently present in Dubai.
“What we’ve seen is there are a lot of incentives out there, but they’re very sporadic. We want to unify them all on one platform.”
He added that Dubai’s goal was to create the ultimate environment for digital companies to set up shop and expand in the region.
Partners such as Telr, Dubai CommerCity, the UAE’s largest telecoms operator e& (formerly Etisalat), and Safexpay have already signed on, the chamber said, with more companies expected to follow.
The UAE last year unveiled its Digital Economy Strategy which aims to increase the sector’s contribution to GDP by 20 percent over the next 10 years, up from 9.7 percent in 2022.
The initiative is also part of Dubai’s plan to attract 300 digital startups by 2024 and boost its non-oil GDP.
Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, president and CEO of Dubai Chambers, said the new platform would offer “better packages, better incentives,” thanks to a collective approach with partners.
He explained that the platform will provide both company-based and employee-based incentives, making Dubai even more attractive to local and international digital startups.
Benefits include discounts on commercial office spaces, technology, and infrastructure such as connectivity and data-hosting, with the platform designed as a one-stop shop for licensing services, banking facilities, office space, cloud services, and more.
Lootah said: “It’s a very ambitious target but I believe that we can do it.
“We noticed increased interest in tech companies trying to set up in the city, and we think it’s very doable — especially if we continue to launch initiatives similar to what we did today — to bring different partners to the table so we can ensure there is proper alignment.”
Details of the initiatives, incentives, and packages will be released closer to the official launch in September.
However, Lootah said that a more collaborative approach will be taken to develop a specific plan for the sector.
