Abu Dhabi's Department of Economic Development has extended by a further year the exemption that lets Tajer Abu Dhabi licence holders run their businesses without securing physical office space, a move aimed at cutting start-up costs for entrepreneurs in their early stages of operation.
Alongside that extension, the department also eased terms for the Rowad industrial licence: new industrial projects now have three years, up from two, before construction must begin, while projects already under construction were given four years, up from three, to reach production.
Hamad Al Mazrouei, under-secretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, said the department remains committed to supporting entrepreneurship as one of the pillars of the emirate's innovation-driven economy.
Official figures show new Tajer licences rose 8 per cent in the first half of this year, building on nearly 25 per cent growth recorded last year. The range of business activities allowed under the licence has also expanded sharply, from just 30 activities when it launched in 2017 to more than 1,200 today.
The department separately said nearly 8,000 commercial and industrial establishments have benefited from a fine-exemption initiative covering delays in licence renewal or cancellation, part of a broader push to ease the operating environment for small and medium-sized businesses in the emirate.