Official figures show new economic licences across Abu Dhabi up 21% year-on-year, professional licences up 193%, and the emirate’s financial centre passing 13,353 active licences — and Savvy Setup says business setup in Abu Dhabi is drawing founders across professional services, funds and industry.
DUBAI, UAE – New economic licences issued across Abu Dhabi rose 21% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, according to official figures, and business-setup consultancy Savvy Setup says founders are increasingly drawn to the emirate’s regulatory framework and its financial-centre ecosystem.
Data published by the Abu Dhabi Registration Authority (ADRA), the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development’s arm for developing and regulating the business sector, shows new economic licences up 21% in Q1 2026 compared with the same period of 2025, while the total number of active licences across the emirate grew 12%. Growth ran across categories: commercial licences rose 20%, professional licences 193%, freelance licences 261%, Tajer Abu Dhabi licences 17%, and licences in agriculture, fisheries and livestock activities 5%.
The expansion reached well beyond the capital itself. New economic licences rose 58% in the Al Ain Region and 28% in the Al Dhafra Region, alongside an 18% increase in Abu Dhabi. On the industrial side, licences moving into the production phase increased 3%, with 34 new industrial facilities entering full operation during the quarter.
“What stands out is the breadth of it,” a Savvy Setup spokesperson said. “This isn’t one sector or one district — it’s professional services, freelancers, traders and industry all moving at once. When growth is that broad, it usually reflects confidence in the framework rather than a single incentive.”
Abu Dhabi’s financial centre is scaling alongside the wider licensing picture. Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), which applies English common law directly, reported total active licences surpassing 13,353 in the first quarter of 2026, of which 961 were issued in Q1 alone. Assets under management grew 57%, the number of operational entities rose 34.52% to 3,741, and financial services entities increased 30% to 365. Asset and fund managers reached 179, up 24%, while the total number of funds managed out of ADGM rose 43% to 263. The centre’s workforce reached 47,047, a 44% increase. Asset managers announcing their establishment in ADGM during 2026 collectively represent more than USD 4.4 trillion in global assets under management.
For founders, Savvy Setup says the practical question is which structure fits. The emirate offers a mainland route regulated through ADDED and a common-law route through ADGM, and the right answer depends on activity, substance requirements, client base and long-term plans rather than on cost alone. The firm sets out the options in its guide to business setup in Abu Dhabi.
The underlying framework applies UAE-wide: no personal income tax at the resident level, a 9% federal corporate tax that applies only above AED 375,000 of taxable income, and 100% foreign ownership available across mainland and free-zone structures. What differs between emirates, the firm notes, is regulatory environment, substance expectations and the ecosystem a business lands in.
“Abu Dhabi is attracting a particular kind of founder,” the spokesperson added. “Funds, holding structures, family offices and industrial ventures, where the regulatory environment is central to the decision. The part that determines success is still the planning: getting the structure, the substance and the residency position right at the start rather than correcting them later.”
Savvy Setup works with entrepreneurs and growing companies across all UAE mainland and free-zone jurisdictions, including ADGM company setup for funds, holding companies and family offices.
About Savvy Setup
Savvy Setup Corporate Services LLC is a Dubai-based business advisory firm guiding entrepreneurs and growing companies through UAE company formation, accounting, corporate tax compliance, payroll, and residency visas — across all mainland and free-zone jurisdictions.
