An Introduction to Non-Profit Entities in the DIFC

Analysis

While the free zone continues to focus on the financial services industry, the Non-Profit Incorporated Organisation (NPIO) represents an additional tool to attract non-profit entities.

While the Dubai International Financial Centre (the DIFC) remains primarily focused on the financial services industry, its stable and sophisticated legal and regulatory regimes have increasingly attracted organisations in the culture and arts, retail, leisure and - more recently - the non-profit sectors. To date, only a handful of non-profit entities have been established in the DIFC, but the more recently introduced regulations allowing the creation of NPIOs may lead to increased interest. This Client Alert examines both the pre-existing options in the DIFC and the NPIO - the first entity of its kind in the Middle East.

The DIFC