8 July 2026 · 6 min read · Hassan Omar
Trade and investment between Africa and the Gulf states have grown steadily over the past decade. For African businesses, the Gulf offers capital, customers and a base for reaching Asia. For many, the first step is a regional office or trading entity in the UAE.
Start with the business case, not the licence
Setting up an entity is quick. Making it profitable is not. Before choosing a free zone or mainland structure, build a business case that sets out who the customers are, what it costs to serve them from the Gulf, and how long the operation will take to pay back its set-up and running costs.
Decisions that are hard to reverse
- Where the entity sits in the group, and how profits move back to the parent.
- Which banks will hold accounts and provide trade finance, and what they require to onboard an African-owned business.
- Whether to enter alone, with a local partner, or through acquisition.
- How the move will be funded, and in which currency.
Each of these has legal and tax dimensions that specialist advisers must confirm. The financial trade-offs between them, however, should be clear to the board before those advisers are briefed.
