Sharjah Media City (Shams) launched Bedaya on 12 October 2026 — an AI-powered platform available at bedaya.shams.ae that guides founders through five sequential stages: Idea, Activities, Cost, Identity, and Launch. The platform is designed to compress what previously required days of back-and-forth enquiries into a single self-service session, available 24/7 in Arabic and English to applicants inside and outside the UAE.
The core mechanic is straightforward. A founder describes their business concept in plain language. Bedaya's AI then assesses the proposed activity, cross-references it against the official economic activities approved by Shams, and surfaces the closest-matching options. From there, the platform recommends specific setup packages, generates a detailed fee and cost breakdown before any payment is committed, and even suggests brand names and preliminary visual identity concepts — consolidating business, financial, and creative planning into one workflow.
No prior knowledge of UAE regulatory categories or free-zone licence structures is required to use Bedaya. That is a meaningful shift: historically, identifying the correct activity code and matching licence type for a Shams application required either prior experience or professional advice at the outset. The platform is intended to reduce that barrier for first-time founders in particular.
What this means for our clients
For founders evaluating Shams as a jurisdiction, Bedaya offers a low-friction way to stress-test a business idea against Shams' approved activity list and get a real cost estimate before engaging an adviser or committing to any application fees. This is particularly useful for founders comparing multiple free zones, since seeing a transparent cost breakdown early makes like-for-like comparisons easier. That said, Bedaya outputs reflect Shams' own packages and activity classifications — a professional review remains advisable before finalising jurisdiction choice, licence structure, or visa planning, especially where the founder's activity spans multiple categories or requires regulatory approvals outside the free zone.
- Visit bedaya.shams.ae and run your business concept through the five-stage flow to receive an AI-matched activity list and provisional cost breakdown.
- Screenshot or export the cost estimate Bedaya generates — it is a useful baseline when comparing Shams against other free-zone options.
- Cross-check the recommended activity codes against your actual revenue model; AI suggestions are a starting point, not a regulatory determination.
- If your activity spans media, technology, and trading — or requires a mainland presence — raise this before selecting a package, as multi-activity or dual-licence structures have separate fee implications.
- Contact Sirius to review Bedaya's output alongside your visa, banking, and corporate tax requirements before submitting a Shams application.
The platform's cost transparency feature is worth noting specifically: Shams states that Bedaya provides a detailed fee breakdown before payment, which means founders can validate budgets at the planning stage rather than discovering additional costs mid-application. We recommend using this output as a working document in any free-zone comparison exercise. For a full review of Bedaya's recommendations in the context of your specific structure, speak with our team or explore the platform directly at bedaya.shams.ae.