ADDED announces newly launched ‘Maak’ initiative with more than 88,000 Abu Dhabi entrepreneurs and investors benefited from its consulting services during trial phase

The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) has announced its new ‘Maak’ consulting service created to help investors operate their businesses in the emirate more efficiently. Under ‘Maak,’ ADDED aims to provide pertinent economic and legal consultations to company owners, as well as extend valuable guidance to entrepreneurs regarding business support and development.

H.E. Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of ADDED, said that the newest service will further enhance the ease of doing business in Abu Dhabi and increase investors’ confidence in the local market. This is in line with the Department’s commitment to establishing an attractive business environment in the emirate in support of its journey towards becoming a highly preferred local and global investment hub.

H.E. Al Shorafa revealed that the ‘Maak’ initiative is an interactive platform that gathers ADDED’s consultants and specialists as well as the customers, investors, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders. Through the platform, they can access up-to-date data and avail of technical support necessary for their planned investments in various local economic sectors.

He stated that the initial phase of the integrated ‘Maak’ project, which aims to further improve the Department’s communication and coordination with its customers, kicked off at the beginning of the year, with more than 88,400 customers benefitting from its services either by using ADDED’s ‘Chatbot’ service on its website or conducting in-person visits to its offices.

“The newly established ‘Maak’ service is one of the pioneering initiatives that ADDED has launched in support of the business sector, which includes small and medium enterprises (SMEs), by providing companies with the needed information and facilitating the Department’s speedy response to their inquiries. This is in line with the ongoing initiatives to improve government services, accelerate the emirate’s digital transformation and provide local society with modern services. The move also complements the government’s bid to position the emirate as one of the best global destinations for businesses, investors, professionals and tourists,” H.E. Al Shorafa added.

The ADDED Chairman urged customers, investors and entrepreneurs to take advantage of the services under ‘Maak,’ which provides valuable information about legislations, laws and policies governing economic and business activities across Abu Dhabi’s key sectors.

For his part, H.E. Rashed Abdul Karim Al Balooshi, Undersecretary of ADDED, said that nine high-level ADDED experts are tasked to provide consultations to investors availing of the ‘Maak’ services, which are available in five languages apart from Arabic. ADDED will further enhance the ‘Maak’ system to add documentation to its service, as well as directly link its licensing transactions and procedures to relevant government entities.

H.E. Al Balooshi added: “‘Maak’ service provides entrepreneurs and investors with economic-related consultations, including economic indices, available business opportunities in Abu Dhabi, feasibility studies, mandated fees, requirements and licensing procedures.”

The ADDED Undersecretary reiterated that new and existing investors will learn more about the legislations, laws, and policies governing all economic activities in the emirate through ‘Maak.’ In addition, the service aims to enable entrepreneurs to seamlessly conduct their business operations, gain business development support, and help them in setting up their businesses in the local market based on organized and efficient procedures.

H.E. Al Balooshi also pointed out that ADDED has coordinated with the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (KFED) to provide Emirati entrepreneurs and local SME owners with access to KFED’s services, which include financing, consultation on business set-up and expansion, various training programs and workshops on entrepreneurship, and SME creation in the UAE.    

According to Al Balooshi, ‘Maak’s’ trial phase from January to May this year saw 74,430 individuals availing of its economic consultation services either via personal visit or instant chat. During the same period, 13,847 individuals received legal consultation, while 218 people benefited from ‘Maak’s’ business growth and support service. 

The newly launched ‘Maak’ service is the result of the cooperation established early 2020 between ADDED and 45 federal and local government entities that are electronically linked to the Department’s licensing system. These include the Abu Dhabi Government services ecosystem ‘TAMM,’ the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), the Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi and KFED.