What We Cover
We conduct an initial assessment of the regulated model and select the applicable regulatory route. We break the product down into specific activities: issuing or storing value, receiving and transferring payments, acquiring, payment initiation, custody, exchange, dealing, arranging, advisory, asset management, and other proposed functions. From the outset, we define who the customer is, where decisions are made, whose money or assets the service affects, and the markets in which the company intends to operate.
EMI, PSP, Investment, and VASP are often used as commercial labels, but they do not by themselves identify the required UAE license. We translate the project presentation into regulated activities, separate mandatory permissions from ancillary functions, and remove elements that create an unnecessary regulatory perimeter. We then build a working matrix covering activities, jurisdiction, regulator, legal entity, capital, key positions, systems, documents, and the stages required before operations may begin.
We manage the entire licensing process—from regulatory scoping and group structure through the business plan, financial model, AML/compliance, technology controls, and operational readiness. We work directly with the client, regulator, and official systems without intermediaries. The project team receives one plan, one evidentiary position, and a clear sequence of actions instead of fragmented advice.
We determine the regulatory perimeter of the proposed business. We assess whether the company will manage assets, establish or administer an investment fund, provide investment advice, arranging, or portfolio management, or serve multiple families. We define customer categories, asset structure, investment authority, fund flows, custody, target markets, and service geographies.
We design the licensing model for the specific activity. We compare the ADGM/FSRA and DIFC/DFSA routes, federal regulation, and other applicable regimes. We determine the legal entity, permissions, capital, key positions, governance, compliance, risk management, AML/KYC, outsourcing, technology, and arrangements for client money and assets.
We manage the project through operational readiness. We prepare the business plan, financial model, licensing forms, shareholder and management information, internal policies, and fund documentation. We engage directly with the regulator without intermediaries, prepare key persons for interviews, respond to requests, and coordinate satisfaction of conditions relating to the company, office, bank, capital, personnel, and systems.
We select the appropriate jurisdiction and regulator based on the proposed activities. We compare ADGM/FSRA, DIFC/DFSA, the federal CBUAE framework, the Capital Market Authority—CMA, formerly SCA—and the VARA regime for virtual assets in Dubai outside DIFC. The decision is based on the business model, customers, products, movement of money and assets, geography, marketing method, and target market—not the popularity of a zone or ease of incorporation.
For each route, we prepare a practical requirements map: permitted activities, legal form, ownership, capital, office, substance, approved persons, compliance and risk functions, technology, outsourcing, client assets, reporting, and licensing sequence. We compare not only entry requirements but also the future operational burden. If the project spans several regimes, we define each entity’s perimeter and the group interaction model in advance.
Once the route is selected, we establish direct working engagement with the relevant regulator and registrar without intermediaries. We prepare the position for the initial discussion, record questions, refine the model, and translate requirements into one filing plan. The client understands why this route was chosen, which conditions must be met, and what the team is doing at each stage before operations begin.
We build the corporate, operating, and governance structure of the project around the future license. We identify the applicant, shareholders and UBOs, source of capital, group and related entities, board of directors, committees, delegated authorities, and key and controlled functions. We remove nominal elements unsupported by actual resources and align the ownership structure in advance with the business plan, financial model, and allocation of responsibility.
In parallel, we establish the day-one operating model: office, local presence, personnel and key appointments, bank accounts, capital, accounting, audit, compliance, risk, internal controls, IT, cybersecurity, outsourcing, business continuity, and critical service providers. Each function has an owner, authority, reporting, and evidence of readiness. The company is therefore created as a future licensed business, not an empty shell.
We sequence incorporation correctly with the licensing process. We coordinate directly with the regulator, corporate registry, and applicable official systems without intermediaries; prepare constitutional documents, approvals, premises, visas, appointments, and corporate resolutions; and manage dependencies so premature incorporation, an incorrect activity, or an unsuitable structure does not require the project to be rebuilt mid-review.
We assemble the licensing package as one evidentiary position rather than a collection of forms. The agreed package includes the business plan, financial projections, ownership chart, shareholder and UBO information, source of funds, fit-and-proper materials, governance, organizational structure, key-person roles, internal policies and procedures, and other documents required for the particular activity and regulator.
We develop operating materials for the actual model: AML/KYC/KYB, compliance monitoring, risk management, conflicts, client onboarding, complaints, market conduct, safeguarding or client assets, outsourcing, technology, cybersecurity, data governance, business continuity, and wind-down. We connect the financial projections to customer and transaction volumes, revenues, expenses, capital, liquidity, and resources. Every figure, role, and process must tell the same story.
We organize the data room, document register, version control, approvals, and signature tracking. We submit materials directly through the applicable official channel without intermediaries and retain a complete history of filed versions. Before filing, we cross-check the entire application: form against business plan, financials against operating model, CV against the proposed role, and policies against systems and staffing. The package enters review complete and internally consistent.
We prepare key persons for interviews and coordinate responses throughout the application review. Senior management, directors, the Compliance Officer, MLRO, finance, risk, and technology teams must share the same understanding of the product, customers, fund flows, governance, financial model, risks, and limits of authority. We conduct working sessions and mock interviews, remove inconsistencies, and ensure responses are supported by documents and the actual operating model.
We convert every regulatory request into a managed task: recording the question, response owner, documents, internal dependencies, deadline, and status. We gather facts from the team, verify legal and financial consistency, update the package where a change affects multiple sections, and prevent fragmented responses from different participants. Management sees the full picture rather than an uncontrolled email chain.
We engage with the regulator directly and without intermediaries: submitting responses, arranging meetings, recording decisions, and closing follow-up questions. After each round, we update the central issues log and action plan. If the regulator changes an expectation or asks for an element of the model to be redesigned, we immediately assess the impact on capital, people, systems, policies, contracts, and timing and implement the change across the project centrally.
After in-principle approval or license issuance, we bring the company to actual operational readiness. We satisfy conditions relating to capital, office, bank account, key appointments, contracts, systems, testing, insurance, and other mandatory elements. We verify that the proposed model has been implemented in practice and that the team can operate within the permitted activities and license conditions.
We manage the agreed post-licensing framework: compliance, AML, KYC, KYB, due diligence, onboarding, risk management, regulatory reporting, renewals, fees, training, board reporting, internal reviews, and audit readiness. We create one calendar, registers, owners, and evidence files. Changes to owners, directors, key persons, products, outsourcing, office, systems, or business model are processed in advance through applicable notifications, approvals, and variations of permission.
We work directly with the regulator and official systems without intermediaries, manage ongoing requests and inspections, and close remediation items centrally. At the same time, we connect licensing controls with accounting, taxes, banking, HR, and corporate documents. The client receives a continuously managed regulated company in which the license, daily operations, and evidence of compliance remain aligned after launch.
We will combine the right services and create one clear workflow.
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