Incorporation • Jurisdiction
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)
Why choose ADGM?
ADGM is one of the most trusted financial centers in the world
Common law jurisdiction
The team at Clara are extremely efficient and go the extra mile to ensure we always have a smooth experience and meet our deadlines. Top-notch service!
– Vishal Sacheendran, Head of Strategy and Operations at Binance
Why ADGM?
Trusted by leading companies, investors and lawyers around the world
Types of licenses
ADGM licenses
ADGM Special Purpose Vehicle license
ADGM Tech Startup license
ADGM Operating Company license
ADGM Foundation
Clara is the official legal onboarding partner of Hub 71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem.
Journey
Process of digitally incorporating an ADGM company on Clara
Sign up
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Add information and upload documents
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Payment
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Incorporation
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From SPVs to Tech Startup licenses and foundations, Clara’s got you covered in ADGM.
Benefits
Learn more about the benefits of ADGM
- Complete foreign ownership allowed.
- Unrestricted capital repatriation.
- No limitations on employing foreign staff.
- ADGM companies can maintain a 0% corporate tax if they qualify as “Qualifying Free Zone Person”
- Personal income remains tax-free.
- Exceptional regional and international professional services.
- Emerging hub for funds in the region.
- Management offices, holding companies, and family offices situated in proximity to their assets.
- UAE pivotal in expanding South-South trade, notably between Asia and Africa.
- Strategically poised to capitalize on emerging market opportunities.
Clara bundles
Save up to $795 when you bundle your formation with our platform subscription
Resources & Insights
Stories, updates and resources
Funding rounds; what you need, when and why
The initial funding rounds of a start-up are often referred to as seed funding. At this stage, investors invest in the founder, the idea, and the company's potential. That money is usually used for product development and market research. Many start-ups don't make it to the next round of funding.
5 thoughts every founder will have about their startup | Expectation vs reality
Sometimes there is a stark difference between what you think founding a startup might look like compared to the actual experience of the early days. In this blog Clara takes a look at five thoughts every founder has about their startup versus the reality.
Binance uses Clara to incorporate and manage ADGM entities. The team at Clara are extremely efficient and go the extra mile to ensure we always have a smooth experience and meet our deadlines. Top-notch service!
Starting a company is hard enough, but managing legal processes shouldn’t be. With Clara’s dedicated accelerator onboarding solution, companies can get the support and infrastructure they need to efficiently and professionally complete their legal due diligence and finalize an investment.
Clara is a one-stop shop for everything equity related. All our data is safe and securely stored and accurately recorded. And our investors love having direct access. It has saved us countless hours and kept our cap table mistake free.
We spend a lot of time educating founders on basic legal concepts: what they need to do for us to invest in them. Clara automates these functions. As Clara’s first institutional investor, we knew intuitively from inception, this company will be a game changer.
You can’t beat Clara’s ESOP functionality. It allows us to grant options to our team in a few clicks while automatically updating our cap table. Truly next level.
Founders often struggle with managing their legal function due to lack of expertise and resources. And we’ve seen poor legal structures create hurdles to our investing in otherwise healthy startups. Investors like ourselves love that Clara gives founders the tools they need to establish, grow and scale their startups from day one on a best-practice basis.
US cap table solutions aren’t tailored to the differentiated needs of international startups. Clara is the only cap table provider we found that had emerging market startups in mind. Add to that all the other things you can do on the Clara platform, from building your ESOP to data room management, and switching was a no brainer.
From company formation to maintaining the cap-table, by using Clara founders can digitally form their companies in a range of jurisdictions, create and manage their cap-tables and generate legal documents. Clara is quickly becoming an integral part of the startup software stack.
Clara is a must-have for founders. Not only does it provide all the legal tools you need in a single platform, using Clara also signals to investors that you are a serious startup.
IP Assignments, what? I didn’t even know they existed before Clara. For startups, setting up governance, corporate structures, data rooms and fundraising are all hard to get right. Clara’s legalOS is premium. It pays for itself.
Clara Money
Frequently asked questions
All ADGM company incorporations (SPV, Tech Startup and Operating Companies) will require these documents listed here.
Operating companies and tech startups must have an office space on Al Maryah or Al Reem Island before ADGM will issue their commercial licence. An ADGM SPV does not need to take their own physical office space and can use the registered office address of their company service provider.
Operating entities in ADGM must take their own lease and Clara cannot offer registered office address services. For SPVs and Foundations that are exempt from having a Company Service Provider appointed. Clara can provide registered office address services.
ADGM operating companies can sponsor employees and Clara can support you with obtaining your visas. Learn more
All ADGM entities must maintain financial records. ADGM companies will need to prepare annual financial accounts and file these with ADGM. Companies will only need to have accounts audited if the shareholders request for the accounts to be audited or if the company’s employee numbers is over 35 or turnover is more than $13.5 million. If the company is a Parent or Subsidiary Undertaking, you must combine the revenue and employee count of the Company and its Parent and/or Subsidiary Undertaking.
What are you waiting for?