New incentives for Emirati SMEs unveiled

UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has issued the Ministerial Resolution No. 251 of 2022 regarding supporting Emirati small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with new incentives.

The enterprises that will benefit from the new incentives have to be members of accredited funds/programmes that support SMEs in the UAE.

The new incentives include classifying up to five enterprises under Tier 1 category per owner, instead of two enterprises, and a five-year classification under Tier 1 category starting from the date of license issuance.

In addition, enterprises with a date of license issuance not exceeding five years may enjoy the incentives of Tier 1 category, instead of three years.

The categorisation of companies into three tiers is based on the Cabinet decision No. 18 of 2022, which explained the specifics of each tier.

Khalil Al Khoori, Acting Under-Secretary for Human Resources Affairs at the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, said, “Empowering SMEs is a strategic priority within the nation’s continuous efforts to develop the business sector in the UAE, which has made great strides in laying the foundations for entrepreneurship and encouraging innovative start-ups and SMEs. The UAE ranked first globally in the Global Entrepreneurship Index 2022, and fifth globally in the Growth of Innovative Companies Index according to the Global Competitiveness Report issued by the World Economic Forum.”

Al Khoori highlighted that the Ministry continues to contribute to national efforts to develop a robust and prosperous economic ecosystem, pushing the UAE to the top of competitiveness and global indicators.

The Ministerial Resolution outlines five conditions for any SME to be classified under Tier 1 for five years. First, the business owner, or all the partners, must be Emirati(s); second, the enterprise must be a member of a government-accredited fund/programme for supporting SMEs; third, it must be managed by the owner themselves, or by an Emirati manager; fourth, the owner may not own or be a partner in another enterprise that is restricted by the Ministry and has any fines; fifth, the owner may not own more than five companies, or be a partner in, or a service agent.