UAE Launches Startup Programme With AED 15,000 in Setup Support
A new startup support initiative has been launched in the UAE to help early-stage entrepreneurs, founders and first-time business owners move from an idea to company formation with greater ease. Creative Zone, in collaboration with RAKEZ and Mashreq NEO BIZ, has introduced the Young Entrepreneurs’ Business Setup Program, a bundled offering designed to simplify the early stages of starting a business.
The programme brings together business incorporation support and access to a wider ecosystem of services, aiming to give new founders a more structured entry point into entrepreneurship. According to the companies behind the initiative, the goal is to make the first steps of setting up a business more practical and accessible.
The launch comes as the UAE continues to strengthen its position as an international hub for startups and entrepreneurship. The country has ranked first globally in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s National Entrepreneurship Context Index for four consecutive years. In parallel, the UAE government is targeting one million small and medium-sized enterprises by 2030, up from around 557,000 currently.
Despite the country’s strong entrepreneurial momentum, early-stage founders can still face challenges in navigating registration processes, opening business bank accounts and building the operational support needed to launch efficiently. The new programme is intended to address those gaps by combining setup assistance, financial access and business services in one package.
The initiative, developed by Creative Zone with RAKEZ, Mashreq NEO BIZ, DHL, Zoho and other partners, offers more than AED 15,000 in benefits. These include digital bank account opening through Mashreq NEO BIZ, discounted logistics services from DHL, support for corporate tax and VAT registration, medical insurance, AWS web hosting for one year, a virtual office package, and access to HR and legal services through Creative Zone.
Speaking about the launch, Lorenzo Jooris, Group CEO of Creative Zone, said the programme was designed to make starting a business more practical for people with the ambition to build their own company.
“Starting a business is a major step, and what many new entrepreneurs need is not just ambition, but the right structure and support around them. This programme was created to make that step more practical and more accessible for those ready to build something of their own,” Jooris said.
Anas Hijjawi, Chief Commercial Officer at RAKEZ, said the collaboration is intended to give young entrepreneurs a more accessible route into business ownership.
“This collaboration is about giving young entrepreneurs a more accessible and better-supported path into business ownership, with the right structure in place from the start,” Hijjawi said.
By combining company formation support with banking, logistics, technology and advisory services, the programme positions itself as an integrated onboarding point for founders seeking to move from concept to an operational business.
Industry Analysis
The launch reflects a broader shift in the UAE startup ecosystem toward bundled, partner-led support models that reduce friction in the business setup process. For early-stage founders, the biggest barriers are often not the idea itself, but the operational steps required to formalize and run a company. By packaging incorporation, banking and essential services together, initiatives like this may help lower that barrier and improve startup readiness.
It also aligns with the UAE’s wider economic strategy of expanding its SME base and reinforcing its status as a regional entrepreneurship hub. As more institutions collaborate to support new businesses, the market is likely to see continued demand for integrated startup services that simplify launch and early growth.
