Maldives is a small nation with an area of 297.8 km². It consists of more than 1000 coral island and well known for its beaches, blue lagoons, and extensive reefs. The GDP per capita of Maldives stands at 10,535.79 USD (as of 2017). Tourism, Fish Processing, Shipping and boat building is its main sectors behind its economic development. Tourism is the largest sector of Maldives, contributing more than 28% to the GDP and 60% of the foreign exchange earnings.  Since the job sector is very limited in Maldives, therefore most of the citizen of Maldives go for business rather than doing a regular job.  However, even foreigners are also attracted to invest in Maldives because of­-

• It’s highly developed economic.
• Stable political condition.
• Lower income tax, remittance tax, green tax etc.

Though foreigners want to setup business in Maldives, but they are confused­– what type of business they should start? Here are some of the business ideas you can start in Maldives.

Bookkeeping Services

Bookkeeping business is one the rewarding business in Maldives.  There are lots of business firm in Maldives who search for booking services for their business.  If you have completed your study in accounting or finance this business is ideal for you.  This is a promising business & does not require huge capital investment to start. Depending on how much you are able or willing to work, this job can be done at different professional levels. Bookkeeping business range from simple bookkeeping for small businesses to corporate accounting jobs like working on –

• Preparing balance sheets & income statements.
• Preparing financial reports to even tax accounting, all with good business prospect.

Business Advisory services

If you have a business or statistical background, you can start this business in Maldives. You can start this business with very minimum investment. There are lots of business person who seek for business advisory services in Maldives, to run their business effectively. This is a type of business that needs

• market research on the particular industry that the client is focusing on.
• Providing data and information on a specific niche or market segment.
• Market-oriented data and information (important to plan a new business).

Cleaning Service

There are lots of hotels in Maldives who needs cleaning service. Besides this service is also necessary for individuals, offices and organizations as well. This cleaning service will be contractual. Against monthly or yearly contracts this sort of cleaning services can be offered. This business does not need enough investment, all it needs is man power.

Food Court

If you don’t have enough capital to start a large venture than its good to start a food court business, street side food court business such as serving snacks with cold and hot drinks is not a bad idea.  Remember you need to sell fresh, test and hygienic food that is good for health. There are lots of tourist coming each day in Maldives, targeting those tourists you can also sell some traditional dishes. 

Professional photography

Quality photography and videography has great demand in Maldives. Both indoor and outdoor photography that covers individuals to events could be a worthy business to operate.  What you need to run the business are–

• Good photography and video cameras.
• A good computer for editing and making discs
• A decent space to work from
•  An online portfolio of your work.

Interior Designing

As Maldives economy grows, people’s own houses and apartments, which increases the jobs of an interior designer. If you a have a professional degree in “Interior Designing” than you can start an interior designing business in Maldives.  You can even start this business with zero investment.  However, if you don’t have any interior designing degree, you can hire some professional who is good in interior designing and start your business right away.

Child Care

Most of the Maldivian families belong to working parents. Because of this, the demands for Child Care Centers have hiked to a great extent in recent times. Parents are opting for someone or a place to have their children well cared while they are away from the house. The situation here has turned it into a necessity from luxury.  A safe home with a live and healthy environment for children managed by trained baby sitters would generate good revenue in terms of investments.

Conclusion

It does not matter what type of business you should start in Maldives; you must register your business to run it legally. Most of the foreigners who are thinking of setting up a business in Maldives don’t know the procedure of company registration. To help you out S & F Consulting Firm is ready to assist you. We provide all kind of business-related service such as- business advisory service, accounting service, business registration service in Maldives and many more.

Frequently Asked Question

Q: Who are responsible for tax administration in Maldives?

• Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) is responsible for tax administration in Maldives.

Q: How much it costs to register a company in Maldives?

• The cost of company registration depends of the type of company you want to setup.

Q: What is the minimum capital requirement to setup a privet limited company?

• MVR 2000  is the minimum capital requirement to setup a privet limited company.