Fundraising — Government Grants & Incentives
Federal and emirate-level bodies run a genuine range of grant, subsidy and incentive programs for priority sectors — R&D funding, SME support schemes, free zone-specific incentives, and innovation grants — but eligibility criteria are narrow and applications are competitive. Most businesses either don't know a relevant program exists or apply without positioning the business against what the program actually funds. FMCA identifies the programs a business genuinely qualifies for and builds the application around the criteria that matter.
Reviewed by FMCA's Senior Fundraising Advisory Team — supporting SME and startup capital raises across the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Four areas of work, from eligibility screening through to the reporting an awarded grant still requires.
The specific federal, emirate-level or free zone programs a business genuinely qualifies for identified, not a generic list of every scheme that exists.
The application built around the exact criteria the program's evaluators score against, not a generic company profile.
The financial statements, business plans and projections a grant application requires, prepared to the standard evaluators expect.
The ongoing reporting and compliance conditions attached to an awarded grant tracked and met, so the funding isn't clawed back.
Competitive programs reward applicants who understand exactly what's being scored — not just who applies.
Applying to a program the business doesn't genuinely qualify for wastes real time and can affect future applications to the same body.
A generic application to a competitive program rarely succeeds against applicants who've built theirs around the specific scoring criteria.
Grants with ongoing conditions can be clawed back if reporting obligations are missed after the funds are actually disbursed.
Government grants are non-dilutive, but they're not the only capital path — see Equity Fundraising where a program's eligibility doesn't fit.
Both bring in capital, but they come with fundamentally different obligations and eligibility.
Our Approach
Most unsuccessful grant applications aren't rejected for being a bad business — they're rejected for being a generic one. FMCA screens eligibility honestly first, then builds the application around what that specific program's evaluators are actually scoring.
How We Work
Illustrative scenarios based on the kind of work we do — not descriptions of specific named clients.
An R&D grant application was rebuilt around the program's actual innovation scoring criteria, after a generic first draft had understated the qualifying activity.
A free zone-specific incentive program matching the business's exact activity was identified and applied for, having gone unclaimed for several years.
Ongoing reporting conditions attached to a multi-year grant were tracked and met on schedule, avoiding the clawback risk that lapses would have triggered.
Related Insights
FAQ
Many are, though eligibility varies by program — some prioritize Emirati ownership or specific sectors, so this needs checking case by case.
Generally no, if the program's conditions are met — but ongoing reporting requirements exist, and non-compliance can trigger clawback.
Yes, provided each application is genuinely tailored, and there's no fundamental conflict between the programs' conditions.
It varies significantly, but the more prominent innovation and R&D grants are usually highly competitive.
Many programs require financial documentation to a certain standard, though the exact requirement depends on the specific scheme.
Tell us where things stand and a senior consultant will get back to you directly — not a call centre.
