8 Ways to Start a Business in Dubai Without Money
Dubai is a great place to start a business, and you can even do so without money. Here are 8 business ideas you can pursue without seeking big investments.
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Outstanding infrastructure, great ease of doing business, government support for innovation, and a prosperous economy are some of the reasons why entrepreneurs come to start a business in Dubai.
According to William Russell, a company providing insurance services to expats, the United Arab Emirates is the third-best place to start business in 2023. And Expatland, a global network for expats, lists Dubai as one of the top 10 best business environments.
But starting a profitable business in Dubai can require significant capital outlay, a fact that can discourage so many people who want to start a business in Dubai but don’t have the money.
But wait – what if we tell you that there are businesses you can start in Dubai without money or investment? Does it sound impossible?
Well, read on.
In this article, we will show you how to start a business in Dubai without money by considering these eight business ideas you can explore even if you don’t have investors.
[Do you want to start saving money in order to launch your business? Download the MALY app to start automating savings from your daily purchases and create automatic monthly savings plans.]
Source: Shift
Basically, freelancing is a system where a skilled individual works for various people instead of being employed by a single employer.
It gives the workers flexibility while also allowing employers of freelance labour to get work done without extra cost associated with permanent staff (pensions, insurance, office space, etc.).
Freelancers and their employers can connect on a freelance platform that oversees the relationship and ensures that both parties get what they want out of their transactions.
According to Gitnux, a marketing and tech resource website, the global freelance platform market is now worth $3.39 billion. Fiverr, Upwork, Toptal, and Peopleperhour are some of the most popular freelance platforms in the world.
Website design, copywriting, search engine optimization (SEO), and graphic design are some of the top skills in demand on these platforms.
If you are in Dubai and you have any of these skills (and a computer with an internet connection), you can easily set yourself up as a freelancer on these platforms and connect with a wide range of buyers (the popular name for employers of freelance labour). Most of these platforms do not require a sign-up fee, only your skills and your ability to market them.
And if you don’t have an in-demand skill, you can take free classes on YouTube and massive open online courses (MOOC) platforms like Coursera, edX, and Udacity, among others.
Alternatively, instead of using freelance platforms, you can market yourself on social media (especially on LinkedIn) as a web designer, graphic designer, copywriter, amongst other professions, and connect with those who might need your services.
In this way, you can exercise more control over your freelance business than what a freelance platform will afford you.
Source: FlexJobs
Just like freelancing, there are platforms that connect those with knowledge and expertise in some fields of study with those who need tutoring.
There are global tutoring platforms like Tutor.com, Preply, and TutorOcean as well as UAE-based ones like Instaclass, Time Tutors, and Concept Tutors.
If you are knowledgeable in any of the subjects offered on these platforms and you trust your teaching prowess, you can easily sign up on these platforms for free.
As with freelancing, you can also decide to take more control of this business by seeking out your own clients on social media or through word-of-mouth recommendations in the community. In fact, you can set yourself up as an online and offline tutor.
Source: A Better Lemonade Stand
Instead of one-on-one tutoring, you can also choose to create digital products around your knowledge and expertise and sell them to a wide range of audiences.
Some of the most common forms of digital products are ebooks, video courses, images, audiobooks, etc.
Unlike hard copy books, you can self publish an ebook and sell it on platforms like Amazon Kindle, Scribd, Gumroad, Lulu, Smashwords, Sellfy, among others. Most of these platforms are free for authors and you will get paid as long as people keep buying your books.
For video courses, you can register on Udemy (and other MOOC platforms highlighted above) as a course creator, record courses on topics that are important to users of these platforms, and put those courses on sale.
If you are a good photographer, you can also take quality pictures and sell them on Shutterstock, iStock Photo, Getty Images, among others.
The world of audiobooks has grown significantly in the last few years. You can turn your ebook into an audiobook and publish on Audible, Scribd, Apple Books, and other audiobook publishing platforms.
One of the key advantages of digital products is that you can continue to earn passive income from them for life.
Do you want to start a business in Dubai but you don’t have investment? No worries. Start thinking about how to create and start selling digital products.
Source: Kenjo
Many business owners are often in need of certain services that they can’t afford to pay a full-time employee for. Some of these can include bookkeeping and accounting, payroll management, marketing, communication and public relations, business model design, business plan creation, among others.
Due to their specific needs, they often prefer to hire business consultants.
If you are skilled in any of these key business functions, then you should consider setting yourself up as a consultant for small businesses.
You can do this even without money by just editing your profile on social media, attending online and offline meetings of entrepreneurs, and requesting that your friends connect you with anyone in need of consultancy services.
In this kind of business, all you often need is one customer with a positive experience. From there, word-of-mouth recommendations will do the rest.
Source: Air Web Solutions
The whole world is going digital and those who refuse to innovate will be left behind.
This lesson was once again emphasised by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Gartner, a technological research and consulting firm, 91% of businesses across the globe are now engaged in some form of digital initiative.
Since many of these businesses are owned by people who are either not familiar with the whole social media space or just don’t have the time (or both), there is an opportunity for experienced social media users to take over the management of their social media and online appearance.
If you are social media savvy (you can follow trends, write catchy copy, and post interesting images), then why not earn some money from it?
You can start by looking at businesses around you (perhaps owned by older family or community members) who have zero or poor social media presence and pitch them about improving their presence. It will surprise you to know that all you need at the beginning is a good pitch.
Source: SPINX Digital
There is another way to put your social media skills to use: build an audience.
By creating an audience around a particular topic – finance, entertainment, tourism news and tips – you can become a social media influencer (on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, etc.) and earn money from companies who want to advertise to your audience.
The advantage of social media influencing is that you don’t need to have a million followers (a mega influencer) before you can earn or make a difference. Even as a nano influencer (1,000-10,000 followers), you can find small to medium businesses who will want you to push their products or services to your audience.
What is important here is to select a relevant topic around which people are building products and services. Once you have the right topic and have built an audience, you can start earning revenue from it.
Source: Empire Flippers
The seventh of the business ideas in Dubai you can start without money is affiliate marketing.
If you can’t create your digital products, you can sell others’ for commissions. This, in essence, is what affiliate marketing is all about.
As an affiliate, you sell digital and physical products on behalf of the producers through a special link (affiliate link) created for you alone. For every one that buys through your link, you earn a commission.
Some of the popular affiliate marketing sites (where you can find affiliate products) include JVZoo, Amazon Associates, eBay partner network, etc. The key in affiliate marketing is to focus on one category of products (say healthcare and wellness products) and build a reputation as an affiliate there.
You can find customers for these products by advertising to your family, friends, and other mutuals on Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms.
Source: Travel and Leisure
In 2022, Dubai received 14.23 million international overnight visitors.
It is no wonder then that the vacation rental market in Dubai continues to see strong growth, as reported by Gulf News. According to Rania Mrassi, CEO of BLVD Holiday Homes, who was interviewed by Gulf News, home owners can expect 50% higher rent on their real estate when they rent them out to holiday tourists.
Some of these tourists are looking for low-cost accommodations such as a comfortable room in an apartment.
So, if you have extra rooms in your house, you can register them with the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and put them up for vacation rental with AirBnB, BLVD Holiday Homes, Travelocity, among other vacation rental agencies.
If the room is in good shape, you can start this business with no money.
Even if you start any of these business ideas in Dubai without investment, you might still need to properly register your business as a way to gain the trust and confidence of potential customers.
Whether you are an independent freelancer or consultant, a tutor or a social media manager, registering your startup with the government can also be a good way to build your brand. And who knows what that brand can become in the future?
According to the Ministry of Economy, you can register a business offline through the Department of Economic Development (DED) in just 4 days (6 days fewer than the average time it takes in high-income countries). Alternatively, you can complete the process on the Basher online platform in just 15 minutes.
The following is a summary of the business setup process in the UAE (more details can be found on the Ministry of Economy website linked above):
Though learning how to start a business in Dubai without money is useful knowledge, it is a no brainer that expanding any business will often require spending some money.
For example, you might want to start creating paid ads to advertise your freelance, consulting, or tutoring business. You might also want to create a website for your affiliate marketing business or even expand to e-commerce or dropshipping. Or you might want to have a physical location and employ others.
To reach these expansion goals, it is not enough to know how to start a small business in Dubai or how to start a business in the UAE. You also need to know how to start saving some of your money to prepare for expansion. In essence, business without money will lead to money and you should be able to expand your business with that profit or even explore other business opportunities.
At MALY, our aim is to make it easier for you to save money towards important goals, including expanding and growing a business. With our app and savings card, you can automatically save money from your bank account and debit card(s).
We provide two ways for you to easily save money.
First, we allow you to round up small amounts from everyday purchases (by connecting your MALY savings card with your bank account and debit cards). For example, if you made a purchase of AED 490, you can decide to round it up and pay out AED 500m with the extra AED 10 added to your MALY savings card. Though the amount might seem small, this habit will add up over the weeks, months, and years.
Secondly, you can set up your MALY account to automatically deduct a particular amount from your bank account at a set interval (say AED 100 every month).
More importantly, you can set savings goals and keep saving money through these two avenues until your goals are achieved.
[Do you want to save money towards expanding a business you have started? Download the MALY app to start rounding up small amounts from your everyday purchases as well as to automate savings from your bank account.]
Download the Maly app by clicking on one of the buttons below and get started in just a few minutes
