Data from the Dubai International Chamber — one of the functional components of Dubai Chambers — shows striking results for the first nine months of 2024. The chamber attracted 157 firms, including multinational corporations (MNCs) and small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs), to Dubai while simultaneously enabling 75 local companies to penetrate international markets.
Record Growth in Company Attraction
The chamber recorded 68.8% more company arrivals in Q1–Q3 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, when 93 companies were attracted. Of the 157 new entrants, 39 were MNCs — a 117% year-on-year increase from 18 — and 118 were SMEs, up 57% from 75 in the prior year.
New Horizons Programme Drives Global Expansion
The Dubai International Chamber launched the New Horizons programme on 31 July 2024 to help Dubai-based companies expand into international markets. The initiative supported 75 companies in Q1–Q3 2024, representing a 241% year-on-year increase compared to the 22 companies assisted in the same period of 2023. The programme promotes export enhancement and the creation of operations in new markets, broadening Dubai's trade footprint worldwide.
Strategic Trade Missions Generate 830+ Business Meetings
As part of the New Horizons initiative, the chamber organised trade missions to Southeast Asia and West Africa that generated more than 830 bilateral business meetings in total. Key outcomes included:
- Southeast Asia: 200 meetings in Indonesia and 180 meetings in Vietnam, focused on investment and partnership opportunities. - West Africa – Senegal: More than 150 meetings in Dakar, culminating in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Dakar Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture. - Morocco: More than 300 meetings in Casablanca, followed by four MoUs signed with major Moroccan investment and business organisations.
Chairman Highlights D33 Alignment
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of the Dubai International Chamber, said the figures reflect the chamber's commitment to its core mission.
"These indicators are evidence of the chamber's efforts in promoting Dubai's competitive advantages," he stated, adding that the results align with the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), which positions the emirate as a global gateway to emerging markets.
