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Management Consultancy Setup in the UAE
Management consultancy, on the pages reviewed, is advice about how an organisation is run. It does not authorise every professional opinion. The activity name still has to match the advice you actually give.
What the two authorities describe
Meydan’s 7020.00 article, updated 30 July 2026, covers advice on business strategy, organisational structure, operational efficiency, financial planning, HR strategy, marketing direction and general management practice. The article’s boundary is the word advisory: telling the client what to do. It says the licence does not cover doing the work for them, and it does not cover legal counsel or licensed financial advisory.
IFZA’s page, which prints no code, lists administrative consultancy and studies, analysis of organisational problems, procedural work, internal policy, restructuring, strategic plans and balanced scorecards. IFZA says eligibility includes a bachelor’s degree in business administration, economics or a related discipline, and at least three years of experience. It also says field surveys and questionnaires need approval from the competent authority first.
Same kind of practice, different published detail.
AuthorityMeydan
Activity nameManagement Consultancy Activities
Code7020.00
Approval noteNo external regulator before the licence, on this article. Legal and licensed financial advice are excluded.
AuthorityIFZA
Activity nameManagement consultancy, as described on IFZA’s page
CodeNo code published
Approval noteField surveys need the competent authority’s approval. A degree and three years’ experience are IFZA’s stated eligibility.
Adjacent work that is not this licence
- Regulated financial advice and legal advice: Meydan says both need separate approvals. This may require additional approval depending on the exact activity.
- HR and recruitment as a placement business, accounting and audit, engineering consultancy, education and training, and marketing as a service you deliver rather than advise on: not described as 7020.00.
- IT consultancy has its own Meydan code. Holding-company management is also called out as a different activity on Meydan’s article.
Routes worth comparing after the advice is named: Meydan, IFZA, and Dubai mainland when the clients are in Dubai. The customer-location question is also on free zone vs mainland.