Fambiz UAE

Introduction to the Family Business Community in the UAE

The Family Business Community in the UAE serves as a vital hub, encouraging collaboration and growth among family-owned businesses across the region. By building a dynamic network corridor between the UK and UAE, we help unlock new opportunities and businesses looking to relocate and scale-up their existing operations.

We help connect leaders, advisors, and stakeholders to share knowledge, explore strategic partnerships, and navigate cross-border ventures. Through tailored events and online activity, expert insights, and meaningful engagement, we empower family businesses to thrive in an increasingly interconnected global marketplace while strengthening economic ties between these key regions.

Josh Smith

Meet our Family
Business Advisor

Josh is a UAE based strategic partnerships consultant and lawyer by background. Josh has experience not only with legal, governance and risk related matters operating across the UK and UAE/KSA, but also with market entry and international strategy.

This includes maintaining a large professional network with senior business operators, providers and professionals, and taking part in regional transactions both personally and professionally. Josh works for a renowned Abu Dhabi based multinational family office (multiple sectors), is the regional director for one legal tech consultancy and also sits on the board of FalconLion, which is a channel helping foster collaboration between sophisticated businesses in the UAE and UK. Josh also has family ties to the UAE, which includes his father-in-law who was CEO of a family office in the UAE for many decades and his wife who has herself runs a UAE startup.

Josh can help the local and regional nuances with living and/or working in the Gulf, make targeted introductions and provide guidance on expansion strategy and approaches.

Examples of work include regional advisory projects, M&A, supply of services, financing, market entry, company incorporation, referrals and go-to- partnering arrangements, acting as either business development consultant, lawyer and/or strategic adviser. This has included assisting businesses to raise finances, obtain new clients and explore regional collaboration. Josh can also talk about life in the UAE more generally.

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The UAE Expansion Programme

The UAE Expansion Programme aims to provide you with your first introduction into the UAE and thereafter to take you through a journey towards doing business in the UAE. The objective is to introduce geographical, cultural, legal and financial topics that will assist, or affect, your development and expansion plans into the region. It also aims to understand your business and then provide more tailored insights and resources to assist you and/or your business. 

There are three stages to this programme.

Stages to the course content:

Stage 1 

  • Meet your peer group
  • Discovery exercises 
  • Geographical introduction and cultural insights
  • Practical tips 
  • Living in the UAE
  • Doing business in the UAE

Stage 2

  • Visas, residence and immigration
  • Legal system, conventions and contracts
  • Onshore vs Offshore
  • Banking, Finance & Taxation
  • Professional Services
  • Industry/sector specific discussion

Stage 3

  • Personalised discussion
  • Company set up, structuring and incorporation
  • Business development
  • Strategic advisory support and guidance 
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