How New Investor Registry, Unified Licences and AI Tools Are Making Company Setup Easier.
Dubai: Dubai is strengthening its digital business ecosystem with a new investor register, expanded use of its Unified Licence and AI-powered services designed to make it faster and easier for companies and investors to establish, operate and grow their businesses in the emirate.
The initiatives are being spearheaded by the Dubai Business Registration and Licensing Corporation (DBLC), part of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). Its role has expanded beyond issuing business licences to include regulating, developing and streamlining Dubai’s broader business registration and licensing ecosystem.
Digital environment
Ahmad Khalifa Al Qaizi Al Falasi, CEO of DBLC, told Gulf News in an exclusive interview that the authority is focused on transforming the investor journey by driving digital innovation, shaping legislation and policy, and strengthening collaboration between government entities and the private sector.
“Our mandate now covers leading the digital transformation of the investor journey, shaping legislation and policy, and building an interconnected ecosystem that brings government entities and the private sector together through a single, seamless experience,” he said.
Licence growth
The expansion comes as Dubai continues to see strong growth in business activity. According to DBLC, the number of business licences issued between 2023 and 2025 was 84 per cent higher than the total issued during the 2020–2022 period.
During the first half of 2026, Dubai issued 58,337 business licences across its mainland and free zones, while 173,652 licences were renewed.
Combined licence issuance and renewal transactions surpassed 230,000 during the period, reflecting both the continued influx of new businesses and the confidence of existing companies in expanding their operations in Dubai.
Al Falasi said this growth is particularly visible in future-focused sectors such as fintech and artificial intelligence, driven by Dubai’s supportive regulatory environment and advanced digital infrastructure.
One platform
At the heart of Dubai’s digital transformation is the ‘Invest in Dubai’ platform, which DBLC describes as a unified digital channel for setting up businesses and conducting economic activities across the emirate.
The platform enables investors to complete multiple stages of setting up and operating a business through a single digital environment, from obtaining a business licence and securing regulatory approvals to accessing government and private-sector services.
Al Falasi said the aim is to move away from a fragmented system that requires investors to navigate multiple, disconnected services.
“Dubai’s business registration and licensing ecosystem has moved from a collection of isolated services to a single, integrated digital environment built around the investor, not the process,” he said.
DBLC plans to further enhance Invest in Dubai and expand its services to businesses operating in free zones, enabling investors to complete a broader range of transactions through the platform.
Unified identity
Another major initiative is the Dubai Unified Licence (DUL), which gives companies a single commercial identity regardless of whether they are licensed on the mainland or in a free zone.
Before the introduction of DUL, companies were identified through numbers linked to individual licensing authorities. This made it more challenging to establish a unified corporate identity and share information across entities.
The Unified Licence brings company data together, reduces duplication and provides government entities and private-sector organisations with a single, reliable source of corporate information.
Bank accounts
One of the most significant impacts of the initiative has been on corporate banking.
According to Al Falasi, digitally linking unified corporate data with banks has reduced the time required to open a corporate bank account from around 90 days to approximately three days.
The system also minimises the need for companies to repeatedly submit the same information and documents to different government and private-sector entities.
New Dubai Investor Register
DBLC is also developing the Dubai Investor Register, which aims to create a unified digital record for individual and corporate investors.
Under the proposed system, investors would provide their information once, rather than repeatedly registering with different authorities as they expand their operations, open branches, acquire stakes, move businesses between licensing zones or invest in sectors such as financial markets and real estate.
Changes to investor information would be updated once and then automatically reflected across the relevant entities.
Al Falasi said the approach would reduce administrative requirements while improving data integration and protecting investor information by minimising the need for repeated data sharing.
AI to guide investors
Artificial intelligence is expected to play an increasingly important role in the next phase of Dubai’s business services.
DBLC plans to use AI to deliver more personalised services through Invest in Dubai, with the platform evolving beyond a transaction-processing tool into a digital system capable of guiding investors through the various stages of establishing, operating and growing their businesses.
The technology could help recommend relevant services and provide investors with tailored information based on where they are in their business journey.
These initiatives form part of Dubai’s broader efforts to improve the ease of doing business and advance the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which aims to double the size of Dubai’s economy and strengthen its position among the world’s leading economic cities.
Al Falasi said the focus going forward would be on building a more connected and proactive business environment, where government and private-sector services work together around the needs of investors.
