Planning to set up your business in UAE? But. have you applied for your trade license? The trade license is one of the most important steps that must be obtained before jumping on your new venture. Business needs a trade license to legally conduct any form of business activity in the UAE. That means each business must be registered. They must possess a valid trade license from the local authority.
The trade license depends on the business activity that you wish to undertake. In essence, select the activity first like services, buying/selling, or manufacturing.
At C-UAE, we understand it’s difficult for a new start-up to understand these complexities. For this reason, we penned down this article.
In this blog, we’ll unwrap the details, including
- Why is business activity important?
- What is the role of a DED?
- Top 10 UAE business activity list
- How C-UAE helps you in this regard
Let’s move on to details and start exploring it.
Why Business Activity is important to choose?
Every entrepreneur looking to start their business must need a trade license. In the UAE, there are three types of trade licenses that you can apply for. It primarily depends on your business activity. Services businesses need a professional license. On the other hand, businesses that are related to buying or purchasing goods need a commercial license. Similarly, manufacturing activities in the UAE can be undertaken by having an industrial license.
When applying for a trade license, clearly define all the activities that will be carried out under the main company license. Want to know how to apply for your trade license in UAE, C-UAE also assists in this regard.
DED and its Roles
The Department of Economic Development Dubai (DED) is a government agency. They are responsible for the regulation of the emirate’s economic agenda. The DED is the regulatory authority that establishes infrastructure, technological elements, and regulations. Their purpose is to facilitate local and foreign investors.
On the other hand, DED also provides all services related to the issuance, modification, and administration of business licenses. In the UAE, there are over 2,100 business activities for which the DED issues licenses.
Top 10 UAE Business Activity List
As mentioned above, there are over 2100 business activities that can be undertaken by entrepreneurs. Against these activities, the DED issues trade licenses. These activities are generally gathered under three categories. These may include commercial, professional, and industrial licenses. We have gathered the business activity list Dubai in table form for your understanding. Let’s discover what activities the DED offers to entrepreneurs UAE.
Commercial License
| Advertising | Aircraft and Train Spare Parts Trading | Amusement Equipment and Supplies Trading | |
| 1 | Animal Skin Trading | Art Production | Auto Spare Parts Trading |
| 2 | Bags, Packaging Materials, and Paper Trading | Banks, Finance, and Credit Group | Beauty and Baby Care Requisites |
| 3 | Broadcasting and Communications | Building Maintenance | Building Materials Trading |
| 4 | Car Rent and Passenger Transport | Chemicals Trading | Cinema and Theaters |
| 5 | Cleaning Equipment Trading | Commercial Brokerage | Consumer Stores Group |
| 6 | Contracting and Building Works | Cooperation Societies | Domestic Gas Distribution |
| 7 | Electricals Trading | Electronics Group | Exchange and Financial Services |
| 8 | Facility Management | Filling Station | Fish Trading |
| 9 | Flour Mills | Flowers and Plants | Fodders and Animal Food Trading |
| 10 | Foodstuff Supply | Foodstuff Trading | Fuel and Petroleum Products Trading |
INDUSTRIAL LICENSE
| Appliances and Machinery Manufacturing | Block and Building Stones Industry | Bread Manufacturing | |
| 1 | Carpet and Mat Manufacturing | Casting of Steel and Iron | Charcoal Production |
| 2 | Coating, Insulations, Seals and Protection Materials Manufacturing | Cotton and Metal Nets and Ropes Manufacturing | Equipment and Engines Manufacturing |
| 3 | Fish Canning and Freezing | Fodder and Fertilizers Manufacturing | Food Industries |
| 4 | Foodstuff Mills and Packaging | Glass and Chinaware Manufacturing | Glass Industries |
| 5 | Goldsmith and Gold Repairing | Lenses Cutting and Glass Repairing | Light Aircraft Manufacturing and Maintenance |
| 6 | Lighting Equipment Manufacturing | Manufacture of Batteries | Manufacture of Eyeglasses |
| 7 | Manufacture of Gold and Precious Stones Cutting | Manufacture of Mats and Rugs | Manufacture of Medicines |
| 8 | Manufacture of Motor Vehicles | Motorcycles and its Spare Parts | Manufacture of Petroleum Products |
| 9 | Manufacture of Tyres and Rubber Products | Manufacturing of Bags, Shoes and Leather Products | Manufacturing of Chemicals |
| 10 | Manufacturing of Garments and Rugs | Manufacturing of Paper and Paper Products | Manufacturing of Tobacco and Cigarettes |
PROFESSIONAL LICENSE
| Accounts | Agricultural | Animal Welfare Organization | |
| 1 | Applied Studies | Business and Professional Organizations | Business Aviation Association |
| 2 | Business Council | Businessmen Forum | Car Registration and Transfer Services |
| 3 | Charity Market | Charity Society | Cleaning Services |
| 4 | Combing and Upholstery | Commercial Library | Consultancy -A- Agriculture and Soil |
| 5 | Consultancy -B- Engineering | Consultancy -C- Petrol and Water | Consultancy -D- Management |
| 6 | Information and Marketing | Documents Destroying and Storage | Education |
| 7 | Event Organizers | Exhibition Organizers | Facilities Management Group |
| 8 | Finance Consultants | Fishing and Fish Farming | Fishing Cages and Net Manufacturing |
| 9 | Gents Salon | Gents Tailoring and Design | Government Liaison office |
| 10 | Halls and Exhibition | Handicraft Workshops | Hospitals and Recovery Houses |
The next step is to apply for a Dubai trade license, once you have made a choice from the DED business activity list. Complicated to do it yourself? The C-UAE can help guide you to make the correct choices that will help your business grow. We offer curated UAE business setup packages which also allow you to combine professional and commercial activities depending on your business requirements.
Hire C-UAE to Fulfill Your Business Needs
Business activity can be confusing for entrepreneurs to choose. They are unsure of selecting the right activities under which they conduct operations successfully in the UAE.
There comes a C-UAE as their savior! We take the lead and look work closely at what their business needs and offer them a tailored solution. We assist them right that they may need to select a combination of professional & commercial activities from the UAE business activity list. From confusion to succession, they’ll get answers to all their queries.
When making a decision, we do consider other factors also. These may include jurisdiction, company type, profit model, etc.
