For the fourth consecutive year, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has surpassed numerous advanced economies to take the top spot in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report for 2024–2025. According to this year's research, which examined 56 economies, the United Arab Emirates was named the world's top destination for entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
According to expert evaluations, the UAE led high-income nations in 11 of 13 important metrics that measure the institutional frameworks that encourage entrepreneurship. The nation performed better than other countries in a number of areas, such as government policies that support entrepreneurship, ease of access to funds, government entrepreneurship programs, tax and bureaucracy policies related to entrepreneurship, research and development transfer, commercial and professional infrastructure, ease of market entry in terms of burdens and regulatory frameworks, social and cultural standards towards entrepreneurship, and financing for entrepreneurial projects.
In GEM's National Entrepreneurship Context Index (NECI), which was rated using a points system based on the opinions of entrepreneurship experts, the UAE likewise took first place worldwide, demonstrating the strength of the nation's entrepreneurial ecosystem. The UAE's goal of having one million SMEs by 2031 is strengthened by this.
