Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with global technology company Zoho, marking a significant step towards accelerating digital adoption among businesses operating within the UAE.
The partnership is designed to equip RAKEZ-registered companies with essential cloud-based tools to manage, scale, and optimise their operations in an increasingly digital economy.
Under the agreement, businesses registered with RAKEZ will gain access to Zoho’s integrated suite of business applications, with eligible companies receiving wallet credits of up to USD 1,000.
The initiative aims to reduce operational friction for startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), enabling them to adopt professional-grade digital solutions without prohibitive upfront costs.
Lowering Barriers to Digital Transformation
The collaboration focuses on addressing one of the most persistent challenges facing growing businesses, which is access to affordable, scalable digital infrastructure.
Through Zoho’s platform, RAKEZ-registered companies can manage core business functions such as accounting and invoicing, customer relationship management, human resources, internal collaboration, and business reporting from a single ecosystem.
By centralising these functions, the partnership is expected to help businesses streamline workflows, improve visibility across operations, and reduce the administrative burden that often limits growth, particularly for early-stage companies.
The MoU was formalised at the Compass Coworking Centre in Ras Al Khaimah, where Puneet Jain, Chief Strategic Officer at RAKEZ, and Prem Anand, Associate Director and Strategic Growth at Zoho, signed the agreement, signalling a shared commitment to strengthening the digital capabilities of businesses within the RAKEZ ecosystem.
RAKEZ’s Value-Added Approach to Business Support
For RAKEZ, the partnership reinforces its strategy of positioning itself as more than a licensing and facilities provider. By integrating technology-driven support into its offering, the economic zone is seeking to act as a long-term growth partner for businesses across sectors.
Ramy Jallad, Group Chief Executive Officer of RAKEZ, described the collaboration as a practical step towards improving business resilience and competitiveness.
“Digital transformation is a key enabler of long-term competitiveness and resilience. Our partnership with Zoho allows our business community members to access globally trusted, enterprise-grade digital solutions cost-effectively, supporting them as they grow, innovate, and adapt to evolving market demands. This collaboration reflects our commitment to providing practical value-added support that helps our business community succeed,” Jallad said.
This approach aligns with RAKEZ’s broader mission to attract and retain businesses by offering an ecosystem that supports operational efficiency, innovation, and sustainable growth.
Zoho’s Scalable Tools for Growing Enterprises
Zoho brings to the partnership a comprehensive portfolio of cloud-based applications used by millions of organisations globally. Its platforms span key business functions including customer relationship management, finance, human resources, operations, collaboration, and analytics, with a design philosophy centred on scalability and ease of use.
The flexibility of Zoho’s tools makes them particularly relevant for startups and SMEs, many of which need systems that can evolve alongside their business without requiring costly replacements or complex integrations.
By offering wallet credits to RAKEZ-registered companies, the partnership lowers the cost of entry into digital transformation, enabling businesses to test, adopt, and scale technology solutions aligned with their growth trajectory.
Supporting the UAE’s Digital Economy Ambitions
The RAKEZ–Zoho collaboration also reflects broader national priorities around digitalisation and economic diversification. As the UAE continues to advance its digital economy agenda, enabling businesses, particularly SMEs to operate efficiently and competitively is seen as critical to long-term economic resilience.
By embedding strategic technology partnerships into its ecosystem, RAKEZ is contributing to this ambition, helping businesses improve productivity while fostering innovation across industries.
As competition intensifies and operational efficiency becomes increasingly central to business success, initiatives like this partnership signal how economic zones can play a more active role in shaping the digital readiness of the companies they support.
Talking Points
The RAKEZ–Zoho partnership addresses a persistent gap in the SME ecosystem: affordable access to enterprise-grade digital tools without heavy upfront costs. By offering wallet credits of up to USD 1,000, the initiative lowers the entry barrier for startups and small businesses that often delay digital adoption due to cost and complexity.
Zoho’s all-in-one cloud suite gives SMEs the ability to manage finance, HR, customer relationships, and collaboration from a single platform, reducing fragmentation and operational inefficiencies.
For RAKEZ, this move reinforces its positioning as a growth partner rather than just a business licensing authority, signalling a shift towards ecosystem-led value creation.
At Techparley, we see how the partnership reflects a broader trend across the UAE where economic zones are embedding technology support directly into their business enablement strategies.
Access to real-time reporting and analytics can help SMEs make better data-driven decisions, a capability often lacking in early-stage businesses. The collaboration aligns with the UAE’s digital economy ambitions, particularly around SME productivity, competitiveness, and innovation.
While the initiative offers strong short-term value, long-term impact will depend on user onboarding, training, and how effectively businesses integrate these tools into daily operations. There is an opportunity for RAKEZ to complement this partnership with digital skills programmes to maximise adoption and ROI for SMEs.
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