Dubai World Trade Centre Authority Free Zone sees 250% surge in licence renewals in H1’23

Image: Dubai Media Office/ DWTCA

Dubai World Trade Centre Authority Free Zone has reported that licence renewals surged by over 250 per cent in H1 2023, rising from 254 to 892 renewals.

The free zone welcomed 322 new companies to its growing international community of over 2,000 companies, recording 32 per cent year-on-year growth against H1 2022 (244 registrations).

H1 highlights – Dubai World Trade Centre Authority Free Zone 

Dubai World Trade Centre Authority Free Zone introduced the ‘Intelak Incubators’ initiative in H1 offering tailored accelerator and incubation programmes to foster startups and early-stage ventures.

Abdalla Al Banna, VP of Free Zone Regulatory Operations at DWTC, said: “Our robust performance in H1 reflects our alignment with Dubai’s Economic Agenda (D33) goal of attracting foreign investment through the provision of a conducive business environment with a focus on making Dubai a global hub for future economy and innovation.

“Our competitive and well-regulated ecosystem attracts digital transformation pioneers, R&D companies, and tech innovators. A growing community of next-generation tech start-ups and tech-powered unicorns choose DWTCA Free Zone as their preferred dynamic base to expand their operations globally,”

To support the free zone operation, which extends across more than two million square feet of premium office space, 262 new employees were also recruited in the first six months of the year.

In other news, DXB LIVE, the experiential agency of Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), said its business grew by 20 per cent in the first half of 2023 compared to the corresponding period in 2022.