Sharjah enables publishers to set up businesses in a day
Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone scales up efforts to create a nurturing environment for a broad spectrum of publishing, printing, and allied businesses to set up, grow and reach new markets
The Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone (SPC Free Zone), the world’s first printing and publishing free zone, is scaling up efforts to create a nurturing environment for a broad spectrum of publishing, printing, and allied businesses to set up, grow and reach new markets, and contribute to the booming global publishing industry.
The range of affordable solutions for business needs at SPC Free Zone’s integrated ecosystem enables publishers to set up their businesses in just one day in Sharjah’s high-growth and promising investment environment.
A range of cost-effective and value-added services are also fuelling the entrepreneurial aspirations of publishers and facilitating their access to global markets.
These services save time, are convenient, enhance communication with industry experts, and help publishers focus on growing their businesses.
By choosing a specialised publishing set-up package, publishers can benefit from the following services:
Consultancyservices:dependingontheprimary activity and current and future plans of the business, the SPC Free Zone guides investors in deciding the structure that best suits the organisation.
Investors can get pre-approvals, formalise registration of the business, and get the Business Licence within 45 minutes.
Drating services: The SPC Free Zone provides drating services for vital legal documents that are crucial for the formation of any business including Memorandum of Association (MOA) and Lease Agreements.
Document services: Investors at the SPC Free Zone will be provided with essential documents for finalising the process of company formation.
These include the Share Certificate, Certificate of Formation, and Business Activity Certificate.
Visa Services: The SPC Free Zone offers multiple options that help publishers choose the right residency visa for their business needs.
It also speeds up the visa issuance process for investors through a branch of the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, and Port Security in the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone.
Other Services: Under the publishing package, investors can nominate up to five licensed activities from different categories under one trade licence without any additional fees, and the publisher can also register as a member of the Emirates Publishers Association under the agreement of understanding between the free zone and the association.
Salim Omar Salim, Director of the SPC Free Zone, said, “The value-added services under the free zone’s Publishing Package aim to fulfil the unique needs of each investor, whether they are just starting out in the business or looking to expand their operations.
“Apart from the wide range of benefits accruing to all investors in a free zone, the additional services further enhance the supportive environment at the free zone and take forward our commitment to creating an inclusive ecosystem for regional and international publishers.”
Earlier this month, the Sharjah Book Authority (Sba)andingramcontentgroup’sprint-on-demand company, Lightning Source LLC, launched a joint venture, “Lightning Source Sharjah,” bringing the world’sfirstlarge-scaleprint-on-demandoperations to the Middle East and North Africa.
The collaboration will enable publishers to meet the growing consumer demand in the region significantly faster and more efficiently through access to Ingram’s robust global distribution network of over 40,000 retailers as well as to libraries, schools and universities.
Located at the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone, Lightning Source Sharjah is currently enabling UAE retailers the option of ordering books directly from international publishers to quickly meet the demands of the market. Ingram Content Group’s market-leadingprint-on-demandservicehasaccess to millions of titles in over 170 different languages and many publishers have already signed up to make their books available to retailers and distributors in the UAE and the region.
The Lightning Source Sharjah facility, equipped with first-rate technology and digital publishing innovations, has the capacity to quickly process and ship print-on-demand orders, reducing waste and lowering the overall carbon footprint while strengthening the supply chain by printing exact quantities closer to the consumer.