The UAE is incredible for scaling, but hard to test ideas
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Moe Hachem - December 2, 2025
The UAE is incredible for scaling, but it’s surprisingly hard to test ideas here.
The UAE has given my family and I safety, opportunity, and a place to build — and as an expat who grew up dreaming of Dubai as a beacon of what’s possible in the region, I’m genuinely grateful for that.
Posting this on National Day feels right because I care deeply about seeing this country reach its full potential for innovation.
The challenge
The country has enormous potential, but one consistent challenge I see for early-stage founders is how difficult it is to experiment legally without significant upfront cost.
You might have an idea that costs 1,000 AED to test, but the moment you want to do it legally, you’re suddenly looking at 20,000+ AED in setup fees.
In the grand scheme of things, 20k isn’t huge - but it turns early experimentation into an expensive hobby instead of a realistic first step.
The licensing structure adds another layer of friction.
Once you choose a category, you’re essentially locked into it. Pivoting means more fees, paperwork, and approvals — which makes it hard to explore adjacent opportunities or iterate freely.
The opportunity cost
None of this takes away from the UAE’s strengths. It remains one of the best regions in the world for scaling once you have a validated product.
But at the earliest stages, cost barriers mean a lot of ideas never get tested at all. That opportunity cost is the biggest loss.
What could change
I genuinely believe the UAE can unlock an entirely new wave of innovation if these early barriers become lighter.
There’s extraordinary talent here: Emirati founders, regional entrepreneurs, expats who’d love to build - but many face a difficult equation between setup costs and the risks tied to employment-linked residency.
I can imagine systems where documented proof of genuine experimentation and going to market becomes grounds for permit extensions.
I don’t know exactly what that looks like — UAE policymakers understand these tradeoffs far better than I do — but the principle feels clear:
reward builders who are actively testing, not just those who’ve already succeeded.
Why it matters
If early experimentation becomes more accessible, the UAE can:
- Build communities of makers
- Attract even more ambitious founders
- Move closer to the grassroots innovation that defines global hubs
The potential is already here - the talent spans all seven Emirates.
Making it easier to test ideas would shift the UAE from a place where validated businesses scale
to a place where breakthrough ideas are born.