What if you suddenly caught the entrepreneurial bug on an exotic vacation? It happened to the East Flemish Evelyn Stremersch (39), who has been making good weather in the United Arab Emirates for 10 years. “If I doubt whether I still want to do business in Dubai, I turn the question around. Where else?”
Dubai. The lush, somewhat illustrious desert city with its palm tree islands, indoor ski slopes and decadent luxury resorts. In the minds of outsiders, it looks like one big amusement park. “I’m not going to argue with that. Tourism is of course super important for the economy. In Dubai they always want to be number 1: the tallest building, the biggest aquarium… It says something about the mentality. The Emirates are celebrating their 52nd birthday this year anniversary, and they already have a vision for the next 100.”
Spiritual bond
The eastern adventure started for Evelyn ten years ago on vacation with a friend. Since then, her bond with Dubai has been almost spiritual. “I traveled back a few times shortly after that holiday. At one point I was on top of the Burj Khalifa (skyscraper, ed.) And I just burst into tears. I saw my dream lying in front of my feet. Back in Belgium I gave my resignation and took the step to my first company in Dubai.”
Evelyn worked for years on her own outsourcing company Este International, with which she outsourced technical profiles to construction companies in Flanders. “I knew the HR world well through my previous job at Accent. I noticed that many profiles that construction companies are looking for, for example technical draughtsmen, can work perfectly from a distance. That’s how I started my own recruitment company. It was 11 months waiting for my first client, but the ball finally started rolling.”
Chances
“The corona period has changed a lot. It was never my intention to stay in Dubai permanently, but the lockdowns in Belgium made it a necessity for me.”
Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs in Dubai, Evelyn emphasizes. “Last year I made some adjustments to Este’s concept. I am now more active as a consultant for companies that want to start in Dubai, helping my clients with local interior design projects. Two years ago I started a second company with a focus on investments in real estate. My clients are mainly European. You see less Americans here, because they have other options in Central America.”
“Many entrepreneurs get themselves into a mess just clicking around on the internet.”
Why is Dubai so attractive to foreign entrepreneurs? The explanation is obvious. “Dubai is of course fiscally interesting. I feel a frustration among entrepreneurs in Flanders that they work hard, but get little in return. This year, a corporate tax of barely 9 percent will be introduced, and then only from a certain turnover. That tax was simply zero for a long time. An office here gives European companies a lot of visibility and access to the entire Middle East. And it is also much easier for entrepreneurs in Dubai in terms of regulations.”
Pitfalls
But don’t be surprised as a foreign starter, Evelyn warns. “Many entrepreneurs work themselves into a mess by just clicking around on the internet. It is difficult for them to determine with whom you can work in good faith. Dubai may be a victim of its own success in that respect.”
Doing business abroad: tech company or bakery, you better take these lessons into account
And yet. The chance that Evelyn will return to Belgium is small. “If I doubt whether I still want to do business in Dubai, I turn the question around. Where else? Don’t get me wrong: I like being at home and I will never forget where I come from. Kemzeke also has its own charm. But I don’t see myself settling anywhere else at the moment.”
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 exchanged Kemzeke’s church tower for the Burj Khalifa in Dubai: “They always want to be number 1 here”){kind=link}