The pandemic has changed a lot of things worldwide. One significant change that we see today is the dependency on E-commerce. People love online shopping, and why wouldn’t they? It is easy, you get to decide everything without worrying about the time or anything, and you get to know about the discounts timely as well.
There has been a study conducted with the name “UAE Ecommerce Landscape” and it shows that UAE has the most advanced Ecommerce market in the MENA region. So if you are thinking of jumping into this industry, now is the right time. Here we will discuss the ways you can start your own e-commerce business in Dubai. So let’s get started.
How to Open an E-commerce Business in Dubai?
These are the steps you would want to follow if you want to start an e-commerce business in Dubai:
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Select the Right Niche For Your Product
Before you just jump into starting a business, you need to know that the E-commerce industry is a very vast industry. You will have to understand what type of field you want to work in. There are more than 2000 industries and activities mentioned in the DED and you can choose from this list whatever excites you.
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Decide The Location of Your Business Setup
Next step is to decide where exactly you want to set up your business. Is it in the free zone Dubai or in the mainland? If you want to set up your business, you will need a legal address, and without a legal address, you can’t start.
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Select a Trade Name for Your Business
To get a trade name for your business, you need to fill out a form given by the Economic Department in Dubai and you have to submit it to the government. Try to make sure that your trade name has no offensive or religious words or anything that can be an issue for you in the future.
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Get An Ecommerce License for UAE
Once you are done with the steps mentioned above, now get an Ecommerce license for UAE. It will be issued to you by the DED (Department of Economic Development). If you have an e-commerce license in Dubai, you will be able to handle all sorts of e-commerce businesses there. If you have a free zone license, you can work as a local distributor, and with mainland license, you can trade your products in the local market.
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Start Working on Your E-commerce Website:
With increasing reliance on online shopping, you need to have an attractive and secure website for your business. Get a domain registered for your business. Once done, you will be able to have a customized website, but make sure it is user-friendly and has good content to promote your business.
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Integrate a Payment Gateway For Your Business Website:
To add a payment gateway to your website, you need a merchant account from your local bank or a payment service provider. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) is in charge of electronic transactions in the UAE. Make sure your payment gateways follow TRA rules to manage user traffic properly. Also, make sure your website developer offers 24/7 customer support to help with any payment issues, making the process smooth for your customers.
What is the Cost of an E-commerce License in Dubai?
The e-commerce license cost in Dubai can be anywhere from 15,000 AED to 28,000 AED. This cost keeps changing and depends on various factors like:
- Where are you aiming to start your business setup in Dubai? Free Zone or Mainland?
- What is the size of your business?
- Do you require office space for your business to un?
- How many visas have you applied for the business?
- What is the type of your business?
What Are The Documents Required to Get an E-commerce License in Dubai?
Here are a few documents you need to get your e-commerce license in Dubai:
- Passport copies of all the shareholders
- Visa copies of all the shareholders
- Copies of Emirate IDs of sponsors if any
- Local service agreement or civil works agreement
- NOC from the relevant authority
- Draft of MOA (Memorandum of Association)
Start Your E-commerce Business in the UAE Today!
We hope the information provided in the article cleared all your confusion and helped you understand the process of setting up your own e-commerce business in the UAE. The process itself is very simple, but you can always consult DXB-VIP’s expert team and let them help you acquire an e-commerce license in Dubai and help you setup a business in Dubai’s free zone or mainland.