Country guide
Startup credits in the United Arab Emirates
A startup registered in United Arab Emirates can apply to 1301 programs we track: 927 credit programs and 374 accelerators. 133 more are restricted to other countries, and they are named below.
The UAE has one of the better-served startup ecosystems outside the US, and a free-zone company clears the entity requirement for most global credit programs.
Below is what a UAE-registered startup can apply for today, drawn from our catalog rather than from a press release, plus the programs that are restricted elsewhere.
What your entity needs to be
A mainland LLC or a free-zone company (DMCC, DIFC, ADGM, Hub71 and the rest) both satisfy the "registered company" requirement that nearly every program starts with. Free-zone entities occasionally trip up providers who ask for a VAT number, so having one ready shortens the process.
Open to UAE startups
The largest programs with no country restriction blocking you.
- NKFIH Startup Factory Programme$5,000,000,000
National Research, Development and Innovation Office, Hungary
- Fonds de Soutien à l’Innovation$3,000,000,000
DER/FJ, Senegal
- CSI and Startup Flagship Program$1,200,000,000
Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Employment, Bhutan
- Skolkovo Foundation Grants$850,000,000
Skolkovo Foundation
- SME Subsidised Loan Facility$200,000,000
Government of Papua New Guinea, via Bank South Pacific
- Startup Tunisia (Smart Capital)$100,000,000
Smart Capital, Tunisia
Closed to UAE startups, and why
These set a country allowlist that does not include United Arab Emirates. We list them so you do not spend an evening on an application that cannot succeed.
- R&D Tax Relief for SMEs
Open to United Kingdom.
- Egypt Ventures
Open to Egypt.
- Business Finland Tempo Funding
Open to Finland.
- Shanghai AI Ecosystem Subsidy Program
Open to China.
- ICICI Bank iStartup2.0
Open to India.
- EXIST Gründerstipendium
Open to Germany.
Accelerators based in United Arab Emirates
Questions founders here ask
Looking for accelerators instead?
Credits and accelerator programs are judged on different rules, so they have their own list.
Startup accelerators in the UAE