Dubai Turbo-charges The Creative Entrepreneur’s Journey

Dubai’s contribution to creating a welcoming business environment has made it an appealing destination for ambitious creatives from all over the world. Artists and creative entrepreneurs recognize the value of finding the right ecosystem to help them turn their talents into profitable businesses, and Dubai provides just that.

The city’s commitment to cultivating a supportive business environment has resulted in its rapid emergence as a creative industry hub, providing individuals with the resources and support they require to achieve success. 

Under the framework of the Dubai Creative Economy Strategy, Dubai has made an entire architecture of support services, incentive schemes, and business and legislative implementers to make it easier for creatives to bring their ideas to market.

This would include everything from concept generation to manufacturing, marketing, and distribution.

The objective is to boost the number of creative businesses in Dubai from 8,300 in 2020 to 15,000 by 2026

“Dubai’s vision to place itself as the nucleus of the world’s largest creative field is being made a reality by building an ecosystem that supports creative entrepreneurs in bringing their ideas to market,” says Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Member of the Dubai Council. 

Dubai’s Creative Economy Strategies aim to simplify the establishment and operation of businesses in the creative sector. One such initiative is the seven-minute online application process for creative licenses.

Dubai is collaborating with various government entities to establish a comprehensive industry ecosystem in the Al Quoz Creative Zone, as part of its broader plan.

The city aims to increase the number of creative enterprises from 8,300 to 15,000 and create 140,000 new job opportunities in the creative sector by 2026.

 Dubai is committed to promoting a thriving creative economy in the region and hopes to create an organic creative cluster in the Al Quoz area. Dubai’s initiatives aim to simplify and accelerate the process of establishing and operating creative businesses in the city-state. 

Dubai’s ultimate aim is to increase the creative industry’s contribution to GDP from 2.6% in 2020 to 5% by 2026, positioning itself as the worldwide capital of the creative economy. This commitment to creating a supportive environment for creatives is making Dubai an attractive destination for those seeking to transform their ideas into lucrative businesses.

The ‘Creatives’ Journey’ platform from Dubai Culture provides services such as the Zoho app, smart banking solutions through CBD, and Letswork for affordable workspace solutions. Dubai Culture also promotes the transition of land use from industrial to creative, expedites approval processes, and has included Al Quoz Creative Zone in the Rental Index.

The ‘Creatives’ Journey’ platform helps to simplify and expedites business setup for Dubai’s creatives, allowing them to launch their businesses in minutes. It was created by the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and the Department of Economy and Tourism to allow creatives can choose their activity, define the legal form, pay for their license, and obtain the institution certificate issued by the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship via simple online processes.

In  2022, the platform had seen a huge increase of about  82%  in the creative license issued in the Al Quoz area and a 76% high in the whole of Dubai.

The ‘Creatives’ Journey’ is divided into six sections:  natural and cultural heritage, press and books, performing arts and celebration, audiovisual and interactive media,  crafts and visual arts, and design and creative services. Publishing, cinema, music, art, and libraries are also included as sub-sectors. The platform offers four types of licenses with many benefits: trader, Intelaq, instant, and SME start-up.

Dubai Culture encourages collaborations between creative entrepreneurs and feeder industries in order to foster industry growth.

The Al Quoz Creative Zone allows creative businesses to repurpose or scale-up facilities, as well as easy access to raw materials and skilled trades. Dubai Culture is also collaborating with free zones to provide business-enabling services, including support for diversified creative fields such as music, fine arts, photography, film, and video production.

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By offering workspace, studios, exhibitions, consultation, and banking services, the partnership hopes to attract creative talent. Dubai’s robust infrastructure and cultural assets create a productive environment for creative entrepreneurs and professionals from all over the world. 

According to a study conducted by Dubai Culture and the Dubai Statistics Center, the creative industry is expanding, with the number of small and micro-businesses increasing year after year.

Dubai Art Season is a two-month event that includes the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, Sikka Art and Design Festival, Art Dubai, and World Art Dubai. The events hosted in Dubai offer emerging creatives a platform to exhibit their talents and also enable creative entrepreneurs to tap into the new opportunities that arise due to the city’s development as a creative hub.

Dubai’s efforts to attract foreign direct investment in the creative and cultural sectors have been validated by its second-place ranking globally and first-place ranking in the MENA region. Dubai Culture will continue to forge new paths for the emirate’s next generation of creative entrepreneurs, talent, and innovators to succeed and thrive.