This is as good a time to ask as any – in a post-pandemic scenario, what has changed in the business set-up space here in the UAE? How has Creative Zone tuned its value offerings to meet this change?
It is all thanks to the excellent management of the pandemic by the UAE government that the business set-up space of the country has actually improved and is currently ranked as the number one destination to start a business. At Creative Zone, we reinforced three main elements into our daily work culture — care, creative thinking, and new tools. We saw a sharp increase in people starting their businesses during the pandemic and ensured the customers still got the best experience from the safety of their homes from any corner of the world.
For existing clients, we migrated them to digital channels that saved them money and time, and solicited our employees for ear-to-the-ground insights that made us really understand their pain points and devise strategies to address them. Our flexible payment methods and industry surveys and reports got tremendous responses from the business fraternity and clients.
Congratulations on your recent partnership with the government-backed, Setup in Abu Dhabi platform! Could you share a brief outline on what the partnership entails and how it benefits the entrepreneurial community?
Thank you so much! Setup in Abu Dhabi is a digital portal made to ease the process of launching and growing a company in Abu Dhabi. It is a first-of-its-kind platform that has been put together in partnership with 25+ public and private entities, and we are the business set-up partners for it. It is positioned as a marketplace where users will find integrated corporate solutions such as business set-up services, banking, insurance, legal advice, logistics, IT and digital solutions, tax and accounting, and HR services among others.
Creative Zone has rapidly expanded in the GCC, establishing a strong presence in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. What is your strategy for these markets?
Every market is different, with its own business set-up rules and regulations, so one has to alter their models accordingly. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are going through a dynamic and transformative phase, and we are partaking in it by ensuring entrepreneurs, whether regional or international, get the best advice for launching their companies in these countries.
Our offices and expert consultants are in place and have already assisted several entrepreneurs in entering the market. Our approach and vision haven’t changed — to form companies that are compliant with the laws of the soil and give our clients the best business set-up experience.
Creative Zone has constantly pushed the envelope on providing value offerings to its clients and presents a unique perspective in helping setting up business. Is there anything new you have lined up over the next couple of years?
We have a lot of interesting projects in the pipeline for the coming years. I won’t spill too many details, but we are very excited to take our accelerator and incubator programmes to the next level. Now that the world is opening up, we are looking ahead to conducting global networking events that will bring together entrepreneurs from specific fields under the same roof and enable new partnerships and communities.
How do you see the business set-up market evolving in the next five years, what are the challenges you foresee and how is Creative Zone prepped to meet these challenges?
If any of the recent changes in the commercial and labour system are a clue, the UAE is in for transformative changes in the future. The focus on foreign investments allowing expats to play a more significant role in the UAE’s economy, tremendous initiatives to strengthen the country’s SMEs and start-ups, and the ongoing relaxations in the visa rules making it easier for global talents to come to the UAE, are enough reasons to believe that in the coming years UAE would have outperformed all major business hubs of the world. With advancement and improvements come challenges; countries everywhere are finding their feet post the pandemic.
As mentioned before, we have already made our business operations more digitally enabled, giving our clients and us the flexibility we need in today’s world. But having said that, no technology can replace human connections, and we ensure to preserve that in our dealings with clients or employees. A little bit of compassion and care goes a long way.
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