Certification Fees
Understanding the fee structure for Naiwa certification assessments.
Pricing Overview
Naiwa certification is an independent, documentation-based evaluation of enterprise readiness for institutional review. Certification fees pay for the assessment work itself — they are not the purchase of a certificate, and the outcome is determined solely by the evidence submitted.
At a glance, these are the fee surfaces on this page:
SME pre-review fee
AED 499 — one-time
Required before full assessment review; credited against the final assessment invoice if you proceed.
SME certification assessment
Quoted per fee rules
Confirmed after pre-review, within the published ranges below.
SME standard platform access
Included
Core tools for every SME, at no additional cost.
SME Pro
AED 299 / month or AED 2,999 / year
SME private improvement tooling (full AI report, roadmap, readiness history, listing tools). Does not require certification and does not make an SME publicly certified.
Featured Listing
AED 499 / month
Promotional add-on; requires SME Pro + an active certification + an active investment listing. Promotional visibility only.
SME Pro + Featured bundle
AED 699 / month or AED 6,999 / year
SME Pro tooling plus the Featured Listing add-on. Featured shows only while certification + listing remain eligible; SME Pro continues for the paid period.
Investor Pro
AED 299 / month or AED 2,499 / year
Investor platform access and tooling — a separate product from SME Pro.
Certificate renewal / revalidation
AED 1,499 / year — one-time
Renews / revalidates certification; reissue follows the standard review. A one-time fee, not a subscription.
One-time assessment and pre-review fees are separate from recurring subscription/tooling fees. Platform access (standard, SME Pro, featured listing) never changes a certification outcome.
Pre-Review Fee
AED 499
- Required before full assessment review begins
- Non-refundable
- Credited against your final assessment invoice if you proceed
All certification requests begin with a pre-review stage. The pre-review fee is paid when submitting a certification application, and the pre-review stage allows Naiwa to:
- review initial documentation completeness
- determine eligibility for certification assessment
- evaluate the scope of the certification review
The fee is non-refundable. If the enterprise proceeds to the full certification assessment, the AED 499 is credited against the final certification assessment invoice.
Certification Assessment Fees
Full certification assessments typically fall within the following ranges.
Standard SME Assessment
AED 2,499 – AED 4,999
Most small and medium-sized enterprise certifications fall within this range. Generally applies to enterprises with straightforward structures and standard documentation scope.
Advanced Enterprise Assessment
AED 5,000 – AED 11,999
More complex enterprise structures that require expanded review.
Factors that may increase certification scope include:
- multiple legal entities
- complex ownership structures
- large documentation volumes
- expanded governance review requirements
The exact certification fee is confirmed after the pre-review stage.
Example Fee Calculation
Example certification scenario:
The pre-review fee is deducted from the final certification fee.
When Payment Is Required
The certification process follows this structure:
Enterprise submits certification request
AED 499 pre-review fee is paid
Naiwa conducts an initial eligibility and scope review
Certification fee is confirmed
Remaining balance is paid
Formal certification assessment begins
This process ensures that enterprises understand the scope of the assessment before the certification review begins.
What the Certification Fee Covers
Certification fees cover the full readiness evaluation process, including:
- documentation review across the five assessment pillars
- evidence evaluation against Naiwa assessment criteria
- internal assessment review and certification decision
- issuance of certification record when criteria are met
- entry into the Naiwa verification registry
- certification validity for the defined certification period
Certification fees reflect the independent assessment process rather than the outcome of certification.
What the Certification Fee Does Not Include
Certification fees do not include:
- consulting or advisory services
- document preparation or accounting services
- governance or compliance remediation work
- ongoing monitoring or operational supervision
Naiwa operates strictly as an independent evaluation platform and does not provide remediation services.
Enterprises that do not meet certification criteria may address identified gaps with their own advisors before reapplying.
If Certification Is Not Granted
Enterprises that do not achieve certification receive a structured assessment summary identifying areas where submitted documentation did not meet the framework criteria.
This summary helps enterprises understand which elements of their documentation, governance structure, or financial records require improvement before reapplying.
Certification fees cover the evaluation process itself and therefore remain applicable regardless of the certification outcome.
SME Platform Access
Distinct from the assessment fees above — this is access to platform tools, not certification work.
The fees above pay for the certification assessment itself. Separately, every SME receives a set of standard platform tools at no additional cost. Certified SMEs can also enable additional capital-readiness tooling on an upgraded plan. Platform access is separate from assessment fees and never changes a certification outcome.
Standard
Included
No additional subscription required
- Submit and track a certification application
- Upload and manage required documents
- Maintain the business profile
- Receive investor introduction requests
- AI assessment report: executive summary & pillar scorecard (full breakdown on Pro)
SME Pro
AED 299 / month
or AED 2,999 / year — private SME improvement tooling. Does not require certification; does not make an SME publicly certified. (SME Pro + Featured bundle: AED 699 / month or AED 6,999 / year.)
- Full AI assessment report: detailed pillar analysis & improvement roadmap
- AI-assisted business description suggestions
- Expanded SME Knowledge Hub (capital-access, funding types, data room, term-sheet basics)
- Readiness history & identity-confidence tools
- Marketplace listing & investment profile tools
- Direct messaging with investors (subject to KYC and platform rules)
Featured Listing
AED 499 / month (if offered and approved)
Where offered and approved, a featured listing provides promotional placement of a listing within the platform. It is an add-on to an active SME Pro investment listing and requires an active certification — a listing can be featured only while the enterprise holds a live, valid certificate. Featured placement is promotional visibility only. It does notconstitute endorsement, certification approval or upgrade, a recommendation, a ranking of quality or merit, a quality signal, due diligence, investment advice, or any guarantee of investor interest, response, or outcome. Featured placement does not change an enterprise's certification status or assessment result in any way.
Platform tooling is access to features only. It is not investment advice, a recommendation, due diligence, or a guarantee of funding, investor interest, or any business outcome. Upgraded SME tooling is available with SME Pro (AED 299/month or AED 2,999/year), or bundled with Featured Listing as the SME Pro + Featured bundle (AED 699/month or AED 6,999/year). SME Pro is private improvement tooling — it does not make an SME publicly certified and does not bypass certification, listing, review, payment, or audit gates. Subscription tooling can be cancelled anytime; subscription fees already paid are not refunded for the current billing period, and access continues until the end of the paid subscription period. (This applies to subscription tooling only — the certification assessment and pre-review fees keep their own separate terms above.)
Investor Registry Access
For registered investors and capital providers
Standard Access
Free
No subscription required
- Browse published certified SME registry profiles
- View public certification status and verification details where disclosed
- Access publicly disclosed business profile information
- Search and filter by sector, location, and company size
Investor Pro
AED 299/month
or AED 2,499/year
- Pillar-level certification insights for visible certified SMEs
- Direct messaging with certified SMEs (subject to KYC and platform rules)
- Expanded Investor Knowledge Hub (deeper diligence & capital-access sections)
- AI-assisted search and discovery tooling
- SME comparison tooling and advanced filters
- Expanded introduction access (subject to KYC and platform rules)
Investor access is separate from the SME certification fee structure. Registry access does not grant investors any rights over certified SMEs beyond those disclosed in the public certification record.
The Investor Pro subscription (AED 299/month or AED 2,499/year) pays only for platform access and tooling. It does not buy investment access, investment advice, recommendations, due-diligence, or any guaranteed introduction, response, or outcome. NAIWA does not provide investment advice, does not act as a broker or arranger, does not operate a crowdfunding platform, does not offer securities, and does not hold or transmit any party's money. Investors are responsible for their own advisers, due diligence, suitability assessment, and compliance. See the Terms of Use for the full marketplace and introduction terms.
You can cancel a subscription anytime. Subscription fees already paid are not refunded for the current billing period, and access continues until the end of the paid subscription period. This cancellation policy applies to subscription/tooling access only and does not affect certification assessment fees or pre-review fees.
Pillar Insights are discovery context only and are not investment advice, due diligence, a recommendation, or a guarantee of funding, investor interest, creditworthiness, valuation, approval, or any business outcome.
VAT and Tax Status
NAIWA is currently not registered for VAT and does not charge VAT. NAIWA does not currently hold a Tax Registration Number (TRN) and does not issue tax invoices. Amounts shown are the total amounts payable; no VAT is added at this time.
If VAT registration becomes applicable to NAIWA in the future, applicable taxes may be added and invoices may be updated accordingly. Any such change will apply prospectively and will be reflected on this page and at the point of payment before it takes effect.
Refunds and Payment Terms
The pre-review fee is non-refundable. Certification fees pay for the assessment work performed by NAIWA, not for any particular outcome. Paying a fee does not entitle you to certification or to any favorable result.
No refund is due because certification is denied, deferred, requires further information, is later suspended or revoked, or because submitted documentation is found to be weak, incomplete, inaccurate, or non-compliant. Fees for assessment work already performed are not refundable on these grounds.
You are responsible for ensuring your payment method is valid and authorized. NAIWA may pause, withhold, or reverse access where a payment fails, is reversed, is subject to a chargeback, or is flagged for administrative or fraud review, and may require a payment matter to be resolved before continuing an assessment. NAIWA does not store full card details; payments are processed by a third-party payment processor subject to its own terms.
Refunds, where they apply at all, are limited to amounts required by mandatory consumer-protection law or expressly agreed by NAIWA in writing for a specific case.
Certification Renewal
Certification Renewal / Revalidation — AED 1,499 per year
Certification reflects a point-in-time assessment and is valid for a limited period. An annual renewal/revalidation fee of AED 1,499maintains an enterprise's certification status and registry eligibility, subject to current platform rules. Renewal is a revalidation of existing certification status and not a full new certification, unless a fresh full assessment is separately required (for example, after a material change in the business or a lapse in status).
Begin Certification
Enterprises interested in certification can begin the process here.
Start Certification