About

Honest numbers for people starting businesses in the UAE

Most content about starting a business in the UAE is written to sell you a setup package. The costs are teasers, the timelines are marketing, and the hard parts — visas, banking, renewals, regulated approvals — appear only after you've paid.

BusinessIdea exists to be the other thing: a fact-checked reference where every idea comes with realistic all-in costs, the actual license route, honest timelines, and the economics of running the business — not just launching it.

How we keep it honest

• Ranges, not teaser prices. Every cost is an indicative all-in range for typical cases, stated in AED, with the date it was compiled.
• Regulation-aware. Where an activity is regulated (food, education, tourism, health), we say so upfront — because that changes cost and timeline more than anything else.
• Updated against the rules as they change. Corporate tax thresholds, VAT registration, the e-invoicing phase-in — the compliance landscape is moving, and our guides move with it.
• No pay-to-rank. Ideas are ordered by what works, not by who pays.

What we don't do

We're not a licensing authority and we don't issue licenses. Figures here are indicative estimates for planning — final costs always come from the authority or your setup advisor for your specific activity, emirate and structure.

Questions, corrections or a business situation you want a second opinion on? Get in touch — we read everything.