Buy, license, or build? Why most firms struggle to enter the UAE

An article by Hasnae Taleb, the Managing Partner of Mintiply Capital

The question is no longer whether global firms should enter the Gulf. It’s how.

With hundreds of billions in assets managed onshore and sovereign capital actively shaping global markets, the UAE has become a strategic base for financial services, digital assets, and emerging technologies. Yet despite this momentum, many well-resourced firms still fail to establish a foothold.

The issue is rarely capital or ambition. It’s strategy.

Most firms approach market entry as a binary decision: buy a local player, secure a licence, or build from scratch. In practice, this is where the first misstep happens. These are not interchangeable options, and treating them as such often leads to delays, regulatory friction, and wasted capital.

What matters more is how these choices align with the UAE’s regulatory architecture and the realities of operating on the ground.

Buy, license, or build is not a checklist

Each entry route comes with a distinct trade-off.

Acquiring a local company offers speed. It provides immediate access to licences, teams, and clients. But integration risk is often underestimated. Legacy systems, cultural misalignment, and regulatory constraints can slow down execution and dilute the intended advantage.

Licensing independently offers control. Firms can build around their own brand, operating model, and governance structure. But the process is resource-intensive. Navigating regulatory requirements, hiring locally, and establishing banking relationships can take longer than expected without deep market understanding.

Building from scratch provides full flexibility. It allows firms to design a business tailored to regional demand. However, this is the slowest path and requires long-term capital commitment before meaningful revenue is generated.

The most effective strategies are rarely limited to one path. Some firms combine approaches, for example, taking a minority stake in a local entity while pursuing their own licence. This allows them to build local insight while maintaining strategic control over time.

The real decision is regulatory alignment

The more critical question is not how to enter, but where.

The UAE operates through multiple financial and regulatory jurisdictions, each designed for a different type of business model. Misalignment at this stage can stall operations before they begin.

• Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is the most established ecosystem, built on English common law and designed for global financial institutions. It offers scale, international connectivity, and a mature regulatory framework, making it the natural choice for asset managers, banks, and large financial services firms.
• Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has positioned itself as a hub for private capital, family offices, and institutional investors. Its ecosystem is closely linked to sovereign wealth and large pools of capital, making it particularly relevant for private equity, hedge funds, and wealth management platforms.
• Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), by contrast, is purpose-built for digital assets. It provides a regulatory environment tailored to crypto, tokenisation, and Web3 models, attracting firms that require flexibility and innovation-friendly oversight.
• Treating these regulators as interchangeable is a common mistake. A crypto-native company operating under a traditional financial framework, or an institutional asset manager navigating a digital-first regulator, will face unnecessary friction from the outset.

Why global playbooks fail in the Gulf

One of the most consistent patterns across failed market entries is overreliance on global playbooks.

Strategies that work in London or New York often assume regulatory uniformity, predictable market behaviour, and centralised decision-making. The UAE operates differently.

Regulation is fragmented by design, competition is shaped by sovereign capital, and relationships on the ground matter more than remote decision-making. Firms that attempt to manage regional operations from headquarters, without empowered local leadership, typically struggle to adapt.

Another common issue is underestimating execution timelines. Licensing, hiring, and operational setup often take longer than anticipated, particularly for firms without prior regional experience.

What this means for startups and scaleups

While much of the conversation focuses on large institutions, the same principles apply to venture-backed companies entering the UAE.

For startups, the regulatory choice can directly shape product development, fundraising potential, and partnership opportunities. A fintech operating in ADGM, for example, may have better access to institutional capital, while a Web3 startup under VARA can move faster within a purpose-built framework.

Hybrid entry strategies are also becoming more common among scaleups, particularly those expanding from other MENA markets. Partnering locally while gradually building independent operations allows for faster market validation with lower upfront risk.

The firms that succeed

Success in the UAE is less about scale and more about alignment.

The firms that establish themselves successfully tend to:

• Choose their regulatory base early and deliberately
• Invest in local leadership with decision-making authority
• Adapt their operating model to the region, rather than replicating global structures
• Take a phased approach to market entry instead of committing to a single strategy

The UAE is not just another market to enter. It is a system with its logic, incentives, and competitive dynamics.

Firms that recognise these factors and build accordingly are more likely to turn market entry into long-term growth. Those that don’t often find themselves stuck between regulatory frameworks, operational delays, and missed opportunities.