The “Trader” license, which was launched by the Dubai Economic Registration and Licensing Sector in 2017, to enable commercial activities via the Internet and social media platforms, is seeing growing interest from startups in Dubai.
During the first quarter of this year, 943 new "merchant" licenses were issued, a growth of 179% compared to the same period last year. Moreover, 102 licenses were issued last April, bringing the total number of “merchant” licenses issued by Dubai Economy so far to 5353 licenses, reflecting the growing momentum of e-shopping in the United Arab Emirates, according to a statement issued by Dubai Economy today. .
Positive growth The
"merchant" license contributes to supporting the positive growth of e-commerce in the Emirates, and encouraging increasing numbers of consumers to e-shopping, as well as enabling companies to face challenges during the exceptional circumstances and repercussions of the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, especially as it is an approved regulatory framework adopted by Dubai Economy Drive business online and ensure its sustainability.
The “Trader” license provided new opportunities for many innovative activities and emerging sectors by finding reliable solutions for ambitious startups and young entrepreneurs, and the facilities necessary to conduct business in a legal way to enter the market, testing their new products and services by offering them to consumers, and stimulating them to expand and launch in a world Trade and business on a wider scale.
The "Information Technology" group, which includes 17 activities, topped the list of groups in the "Merchant" license issued during the period from January to March 2020, followed by "fashion and fashion" with 33 activities, and then "personal and commercial services" with 13 activities, while The "Party" group acquired 8 activities, and the "Food Preparation" group got 7 activities.
87 groups. The
total of the groups included in the "merchant" license reaches 87 diverse groups, while ten activities can be added to one license, provided that they are consistent within the activity category, and the "training services for the development of lifestyle" activity tops the list of activities licensed since the license was launched, followed by Activity of "marketing services via social media channels", "project management services", "marketing management" and "electronic portals".
Businesswomen
The "merchant" license has gained great interest among businesswomen and acquired 60% of the licenses issued so far, which confirms the role of the "merchant" license in enabling women entrepreneurs to take advantage of innovative channels to successfully launch their projects. This innovative solution provided by Dubai Economy has enabled companies to face the challenges arising from the current conditions, and even to make the most of them for the sake of business sustainability and continuity.
The Dubai Economy has launched a "merchant" license electronically, in line with its focus on facilitating the practice of commercial activities, and the license is still witnessing an increasing demand since its launch in 2017, where 41 licenses were issued in the first month, while the number of licenses issued increased from 270 licenses to 303 licenses, between the first and last quarter of the year 2018, and increased during the same period in the year 2019 from 525 to 839 licenses. The fourth quarter of 2019 recorded a growth of 276% in the number of licenses issued, compared to the same period in 2018.
Dubai Economy seeks through the "merchant" license to organize and facilitate the process of doing business electronically, in addition to enabling companies to communicate with customers and promote growth alike. "Merchant" license controls include the inability to open a shop for the licensee, while 3 visas can be issued only if the owner of the license is 100% citizen, and the legal responsibility lies with the owner of the license.
A “merchant” license can be obtained from anywhere, by visiting the site dedtrader.ae, and following a few simple steps: creating a user name and password; entering address details and social media accounts for the project; determining the activity and commercial name, and finally, paying fees and receiving the license electronically.
Dubai Chamber membership
grants a “merchant” license to membership in the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry for commercial activities and other benefits, including banking facilities. Obtaining the customer's customer code to facilitate import and export through dubaitrade.ae, temporary employment services, participation in exhibitions, conferences and training workshops, displaying products at consumer points of sale and providing a workspace.