SoloWorks — Business consultancy
Advice you
can act on
Business set-up, licences, reviews, cost and margin work, staffing and pricing for shops, cafés, contractors, traders, startups, guesthouses and resorts, with every action costed, owned and dated.
Service profile
- Service :
- Business consultancy
- Clients :
- SMEs, startups, tourism
- Output :
- Set-up, findings, action plan
- Hire :
- One review or retained
[01] Services
What we do
We start with the numbers and a walk round the operation, not a slide deck. Whether it is a family shop in Malé, a contractor on an island or a resort, we read the numbers against what Maldivian law already requires, from business registration, licences and pension to GST and expatriate quotas, so the plan fixes problems without creating new ones. Every action comes with a cost, an owner and a date.
Business set-up
The right form for you, whether sole proprietorship, partnership, company or cooperative, then registration on oneGov, which also gives you a MIRA tax number, followed by pension and SME registration. For foreign investors, approval under the Foreign Investment Act first.
Licences and permits
What your trade needs before it opens: confirmation that the premises can be used for the trade where the council or HDC requires it, MFDA food establishment licence for cafés and restaurants, Customs registration for importers, contractor grade, or a tourism operating licence from the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.
Business review
Two to four weeks inside the business: accounts, payroll, suppliers, MIRA filings and customer feedback, read together.
Cost and margin review
Where the money goes, line by line: stock, imports and freight, rent, fuel and staff, and which costs can come down without customers noticing.
Operations and staffing
Rosters, roles and procedures within the Employment Act's 48-hour week, overtime and 30 days' leave, minimum wage, expatriate quotas on Xpat and, with more than 50 staff, the Maldivian HR head and 60% Maldivian senior management the Act now requires.
Pricing and revenue
Prices, margins and channel mix set against your competitors, with GST, and service charge and green tax where they apply, built into the price customers actually pay.
Financing support
The plan, cash flow and documents for SME Digital, BML and other financing schemes, many of which lend to small businesses without collateral up to a limit.
Compliance check
Registration, licences, pension, minimum wage, GST and Companies Act filings checked against the rules, before a MIRA audit, an inspector or a lender finds the gaps.
Retained advisor
A fixed number of days a month on call for the owner or the board.
[02] Sample deliverable
| No. | Finding | Priority | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Margin on imported lines down from 31% to 22% | High | Re-price weekly against landed cost; drop the slowest 40 lines | Purchasing |
| 02 | GST returns filed late for three months | High | File the late returns; set a monthly filing date | Finance |
| 03 | MFDA licence for the second café expires in three weeks | Medium | Renew and book the inspection | Operations |
| 04 | Overtime is 18% of café payroll | Medium | Re-roster around the lunch and evening peaks | Manager |
| 05 | Stock counted once a year | Low | Monthly count of the top 50 lines | Warehouse |
When you need it
- —You are starting a business and want the structure, registration and licences right first time
- —Revenue is up but profit is not
- —You need financing and the bank wants a plan
- —A partner, local or foreign, is coming in and the structure has to change
- —Investors or a lender want an independent review
Outcome
A business set up correctly, or a findings report with a prioritised action plan, each action costed, owned and dated, and any compliance gaps listed with the fix.
[03] Process
From brief to handover
Each stage closes with something you keep and sign off. Hire us for the whole run or for the stage you need.
- 01
Kick-off
We agree the questions to answer, or the business you want to set up, and ask for the accounts, payroll, MIRA filings, licences and contracts we need.
- —Scope letter
- —Data request
- 02
Review
Time on site with the team, plus the numbers read line by line.
- —Site visit
- —Interview notes
- 03
Findings
What we found, what it costs you, what the rules require and what it is worth to fix.
- —Findings report
- —Compliance list
- 04
Action plan
Actions ranked by value and effort, each with an owner and a date.
- —Action plan
- —Board summary
- 05
Follow-through
Monthly check-ins to keep the plan moving, if you want them.
- —Progress notes
Who do you work with?
Local businesses of every size, from sole proprietors, shops and cafés to contractors, traders, workshops and family companies, as well as startups, guesthouses, resorts and foreign investors.
Which business form should we choose?
Maldivians can trade as a sole proprietor, a partnership (including a limited liability partnership), a company or a cooperative society, all on the same Business Registry. Since the Companies Act 2023 a company can have a single shareholder, though it needs at least one director resident in the Maldives. We weigh liability, tax, financing and paperwork, and recommend one.
What does a new café or shop need before it opens?
Business registration on oneGov, which also registers you with MIRA; confirmation that the premises can be used for the trade, where the council or HDC requires it; for food, an oil-trap letter from MWSC or the local utility and an MFDA food establishment licence after inspection; pension registration for staff and Xpat approval for any foreign staff; and GST registration once sales pass MVR 1 million, or from the start if you import goods or run a tourism business such as a guesthouse. We run the list with you in the right order.
How long does a review take?
A typical business review takes two to four weeks, including at least one site visit. Businesses with several branches or properties take longer.
Can you set up a company for a foreign investor?
Yes. Under the Foreign Investment Act (Law 11/2024) a foreign investor needs approval from the Ministry of Economic Development, Transport and Trade before the business is registered, and each activity has its own ownership limit. Resorts can be fully foreign-owned, for example, while guesthouses are capped at 49% foreign shareholding and new cafés, restaurants and bakeries are closed to foreign investment, under the entry requirements issued in October 2025. We check the current list for your activity before anything is signed.
How should service charge be handled?
Tourism businesses must add a service charge of at least 10%. Since January 2021 the Employment Act has let the employer keep up to 1% for administration and requires the rest to be shared equally among all employees. We check that payroll does exactly that, because it is one of the first things an inspection looks at.
Will you help put the plan in place?
Yes, if you want us to. Many clients keep us on for a few days a month to see the actions through.
Other services
Start a project
Tell us what
is not working
Send a short note on the business: what is working, what is not and what you want to change. We reply with a scope and a fixed fee for the review.