Today's Edition
ISIDORA CIRIC (ABU DHABI)
The UAE has been ranked first in the Middle East and Africa and fifth worldwide in the Innovators Business Environment Index 2026, a new benchmark that rates how easily founders can start, operate and trust a country’s business system.
With an overall score of 86.2, the country ranks above Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Estonia in the top 10. The US took first place, followed by Singapore in second, the UK in third, and Switzerland in fourth.
“The UAE is one of MENA’s most diversified and business-friendly environments. Its reliable regulatory system, strong transparency, and emphasis on global mobility have helped it grow into an appealing business environment,” the report said.
Published by StartupBlink on Tuesday, the report benchmarks 125 countries on “the friction and infrastructure” that define the founder journey: how easy it is to start a business, how quickly it can scale and profit, and whether the entrepreneurs can trust the system.
To answer these questions, analysts score countries on three pillars – Business Incentives, Ease of Operating a Business, and Market Perception – using more than 30 measurable indicators to assess the accessibility, predictability, and reliability of national business environments.
The UAE’s strongest showing came under the Business Incentives pillar, where it placed second globally with a score of 98.2. The pillar evaluates how financially attractive a location is through taxes, funding channels, trade openness, and other cost-related conditions that determine whether ventures can operate profitably.
The country also ranked second worldwide in the Taxation functional category – typically a weak point for high-ranking countries – with strong ratings for its dividend, capital gains and top personal income tax rates.
“The UAE’s globally competitive tax framework remains central to the country’s appeal for innovators. Long-term residency options such as the Golden Visa give investors, founders, and skilled professionals a sense of stability and the ability to build lasting roots,” the index wrote.
Besides being placed “among the highest-ranked countries in tax-related assessments”, StartupBlink added that the UAE’s broad-based business appeal lifted it to the top 25% of the index for more than half of all parameters.
Among these highlights is the UAE passport power – a measure of visa-free access – which received a perfect score of 100, nearly double the worldwide mean of 53.7.
The corporate tax rate scored 76 points, while the country’s Internet speed was rated at 99.6, both close to double the respective global average scores of 39.5 and 49.2.
The study also distinguishes the UAE’s enabling conditions from ecosystem outputs. Its IBEI placement is stronger than its position in StartupBlink’s 2025 Global Startup Ecosystem Index, implying that the country’s “strong underlying business-environment” is running ahead of measured startup outcomes.
“Many bootstrapped founders choose the country for its incentives and its ease of starting and running a business,” the report said.
“Its strengths rest on strong institutions, efficient public services, and policies that lower barriers for local and international firms.”
In addition to its tax and regulatory advantages, the index pointed to the UAE’s support infrastructure for innovation, citing Free Zones and institutions like Hub71 and Dubai Chambers for providing smooth access to global markets and support for international growth.
“Overall, the UAE is a fast-growing and strategically minded business environment. It offers stability, clear advantages, and room to scale for entrepreneurs with global ambitions.”
