free zone

Sharjah Media City (SHAMS) is one of the most freelancer-friendly free zones in the UAE, established in 2017 by the Sharjah government. It offers the cheapest media licence in the country, a dedicated content-creator and influencer permit category, and visa-included packages aimed squarely at solo founders rather than large agencies.

Dubai South — formerly Dubai World Central — is a 145 km² master-planned aerotropolis built around Al Maktoum International Airport, the airport that will eventually replace Dubai International. It groups Logistics, Aviation, Business Park, Commercial, and Residential districts alongside Expo City Dubai, and licenses aviation, logistics, e-commerce, and services businesses under standard UAE free-zone benefits.

The Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) is the UAE's largest free zone outside Dubai and Abu Dhabi by registered company count, formed in 2017 from the merger of RAK FTZ and RAKIA. It combines budget-priced licences with genuine industrial plots and warehouses — a rare combination that puts it on the shortlist for both solo founders and manufacturers.

Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA), established in 1985 and operated by DP World, is the UAE's first and largest free zone — 9,500+ companies on a 57 km2 site adjacent to Jebel Ali Port. It is the country's default home for heavy industry, manufacturing, port-dependent trading, and large-scale logistics, with a separate JAFZA Offshore regime for asset and IP holding.