Dubai, : The Department of Economic Development (DED) and its National Identity Team honoured 10 winners at the ‘Spirit of the Union’ competition held during the 40th UAE National Day celebrations from 27 Nov to 1 Dec 2011.

His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of DED, senior officials from DED and representatives of the partner companies attended the event.

The ceremony included a video presentation of DED activities organised as part of the National Day celebrations.

Companies that supported the National Day programmes, including Modern Design Contracting Company, Damas, Patchi, Apollo Flight Centre and 050Telecom were honoured by the DED Director General.

Commenting on the National Day programme Al Qamzi said it will contribute to enhancing national identity and social relations among DED’s employees. He also lauded the efforts of the partner companies and their commitment to supporting social development through participating in national initiatives.

“The National Identity Team is committed to strengthening social cohesion within DED through meaningful initiatives and programmes. The ‘Spirit of the Union’ competition was one of such programmes and included 40 questions on the formation of the UAE,” said Nisreen Safar, Director, Marketing & Communications at DED and Chairperson of the National Identity Team.

“The competition was interactive and generated an enthusiastic response from employees,” she added.

 The 11-member National Identity Team seeks to organise various celebrations and activities, to enhance national identity and spread awareness on a national work culture within DED. The Team also aims to enable residents in Dubai to participate in driving comprehensive growth, strengthen socials links with mutual respect, acceptance and openness.

 As part of the National Day celebrations the Business Registration and Licensing Division of DED also set up a showcase of Arab hospitality across all DED centres, distributing booklets on the formation of the UAE to all customers

Release Date: 10th December 2011

Aiming to strengthen the exports sector and explore newer areas of investment, Dubai Exports, and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), agencies of the Department of Economic Development (DED), hosted top Iraqi officials from the Federation of Kurdistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, to bolster bilateral trade opportunities between the two countries.

Headed by Engineer Saed Al Awadi, CEO of Dubai Exports, and Fahd Al Gergawi, CEO of FDI, the meeting was focused on the development and promotion of bilateral trade opportunities that can be positively used to increase the exports between Dubai and Iraq. The Iraqi delegation consisted of Shilan Khanqa, Advisor, Council of Ministers, Kurdistan Regional Government and Dara Jaleel Khayat, Chairman of Federation of Kurdistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and several other companies from Iraq.

During the trade visit, the Iraqi delegation highlighted the characteristic of Kurdistan region as a sea, land and air trade gate in addition to its geographic features making it as the best destination for investment in the region. Currently, the Iraqi government is strengthening its financial capabilities to further bolster its trade activities with its neighbouring countries.

Al Awadi explained Dubai Exports’ strategies of developing new sectors for the local manufacturing community including the value-added services it provides to facilitate exports to regional and international markets.
 
“One of our missions is to proactively work and communicate with different government agencies worldwide for possible trade partnerships for the country’s economic development. Iraq is a fast-growing market and we are looking into developing other sectors as well as creating huge opportunities for both Dubai-based and Iraq-based companies by organising a trade mission and other activities to the country next year,” said Engineer Al Awadi.

Iraq is among the preferred trading partners and top exports markets for Dubai particularly with sugar and confectionery products amounting to AED611 million in 2010. According to Dubai Exports, Dubai’s direct exports to Iraq posted AED1.17 billion while the total Free Zone exports were valued at AED13.37 billion in 2010.

According to Al Gergawi, FDI is committed to position Dubai as the preferred investment destination globally. During the meeting, he discussed the unparalleled opportunities and support services offered by FDI to develop investment from and towards UAE.

“This meeting with the Iraqi delegation paves the road to develop further investments from local companies in the two countries. FDI is keen to provide all efforts to enable Iraqi businessmen and potential investors to come to Dubai and invest in our fast growing sectors,” said Al Gergawi. 

The Iraqi delegation aims to focus on developing the country’s private sector by strengthening its investment relations with different countries particularly Dubai, which is one of the main destinations to do business with the rest of the world. The Kurdistan market is now open to foreign investors and Dubai-based companies can look on investing in different sectors. As a result of the visit, the Iraqi delegates will be able to benefit from the services provided by Dubai Exports and FDI.

Dubai - Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED), Government of Dubai, entrusted with the development of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, has co-organised with the Arab Society of Certified Accountants (ASCA) and the UK based IFRS Foundation a 3-day Train the Trainer workshop on the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) for Small and Medium Entities (SMEs).  The workshop was held in Dubai from 27 – 29 Sep.

Professionals in the Accounting and Auditing Trade, financial analysts in banks & government agencies, financial consultants as well finance executives of selective SMEs participated in the workshop which was inaugurated by HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, ASCA’s Chairman.  About 110 trainees from various countries in the region such as Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, including the UAE attending in the workshop. The workshop was facilitated by Paul Pacter (IASB member and Chairman of the IASB’s SME Implementation Group) and Michael Wells (Director of the IFRS Foundation’s Education Initiative). 

The Workshop aimed at developing the capacity of regional trainers to provide subsequent training on the IFRS for SMEs in their own jurisdiction in addition to opening a door of opportunities for other stakeholders including standard setters and regulators to promote high quality implementation of the IFRS for SMEs.

The need to create greater awareness amongst SMEs to adopt proper financial reporting standards cannot be stressed enough.  The financial crisis has shown how the lack of transparency in the financial system contributed to a credit crunch.  The use of internationally recognised accounting standard contributes greatly to transparency in financial reporting and thereby improves SMEs access to finance.

In a survey of SMEs’ development needs in Dubai, it was found that more than half of established SMEs with at least 5-years of operation had unaudited accounts. Informal feedback gathered from banks also revealed that a vast majority of SMEs, even the medium, established SMEs do not adopt any financial reporting standards or even undertake basic annual audits of their financial books.  This is indeed worrying, as it can be a major barrier to a SMEs’ growth in a sustainable way.  Many SMEs surveyed revealed that they were prepared to pay to adopt some form of international reporting standard if the auditors had the right accreditation and did not charge excessively.

Hence, as part of Dubai SME’s development plan for the SME sector, it is initiating this critical initiative to train a pool of trainers who will then transmit the knowledge to others who will in turn train SMEs who are prepared to adopt proper accounting standards. This is the thinking behind holding the IFRS for SMEs train the trainer workshops in Dubai this week

The IFRS for SMEs is an abridged version of the standards suited for SMEs in different stages of growth.  It is less onerous, yet maintains the key principles of the set of International Financial Reporting Standards that is used by listed companies.  Dubai SME aims to promote such standards amongst SMEs in Dubai, to help them become more bankable and investable.

H.E. Sami Dhaen Al Qamzi, Director General, Department of Economic Development – Dubai, remarked “this is a significant milestone in Dubai’s SME Development agenda.  Adopting a standard way of reporting financial accounts is crucial if our companies want to achieve new growth in global markets, as well as to raise external capital.  The Dubai government supports such initiative for SMEs to voluntarily adopt such standards for their own good.  I commend Dubai SME for initiating such a strategic initiative to create greater awareness of the importance of adopting IFRS amongst the SME community so as to enable their future development”.

H.E Abdul Baset Al Janahi, Chief Executive Office of Dubai SME, expressed “I am confident that over time, more growing SMEs will embrace IFRS to enable them to be more bankable and investable. The train-the-trainer programme aims to train the accounting, auditing, banking, finance and other related professionals on how to train SMEs on the IFRS for SMEs so as to increase the adoption rate amongst Dubai’s SMEs.  All stakeholders will certainly benefit from this initiative – the end users who are the SMEs and banking, finance and accounting industry.

H.E.  Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman of ASCA said in his opening speech “This event creates endless opportunities for all to benefit and provides an umbrella for interaction among trainers to share their experience, tackle common issues related to IFRS for SMEs. We thank Dubai for hosting such a great event.”

“ASCA has worked effortlessly to promote the SMEs standards throughout the Arab world and has just recently finished translating of the training material and the presentation slides as part of its contribution and responsibility to the Arab professionals,” he added.

Also ASCA finished the translation work of IFRS for SMEs

Michael Wells, Director of the IFRS Foundation’s education initiative thanked Dubai SME for most efficiently hosting this important regional training workshop and the ASCA for translating the IFRS Foundation IFRS for SMEs training material into the Arabic-language. He said ‘’I believe that this workshop is an important catalyst for improving SMEs’ access to capital in Dubai and across the region.  Better access to capital supports greater growth in the SME sector and should unlock benefits for the whole economy.’’ 

The Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) has announced the launch of quarterly Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) to evaluate consumer impressions on the state of the economy and the key drivers of consumer behaviour.

Based on the findings of complex surveys, DED will release a quarterly Consumer Confidence Index, providing an overview of spending patterns, household incomes, and saving techniques among consumers in Dubai. The first Consumer Confidence Index for Dubai will be published by the end of the last quarter of 2011.

“The index is intended to provide a realistic assessment of consumer perceptions on economic changes as well as their future intentions and expectations. A clear understanding of consumer response to economic conditions and expectations will help governments and business owners in economic planning and decision-making,” said His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of the Department of Economic Development.

“The economy in Dubai has seen significant changes in recent years. The growing interest in Dubai’s infrastructure, business environment and varied lifestyle choices available here make it clear that Dubai is moving to a new phase of growth. Efficient and up-to-date intelligence on the key influencers of consumer behaviour is essential for the government and businesses to support and sustain economic activity,” Al Qamzi said.

His Excellency added: “The Consumer Confidence Index is a perfect fit with our strategy to support economic planning and integrate best international practices in enhancing transparency and overall competitiveness in the business environment in Dubai.”

The Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection Division of DED and global market research firm, The Nielsen Company, have signed a partnership to develop and conduct the quarterly consumer confidence surveys. Nielsen has surveyed over 50 markets in the world, providing critical insights to governments and organisations on consumer perceptions and trends influencing economic activity.

“Consumer spending is key to the survival of the market. It is therefore the responsibility of market regulators and businesses to build confidence among consumers so that they can spend without compromising their financial stability or long-term objectives. We believe our Consumer Confidence Index will provide consumers, businesses, and policy-makers with a clear template to balance trends, drivers, and outcomes of consumer spending” said Omar Bushahab, CEO of the Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection Division, DED.

The quarterly Consumer Confidence Index will help retailers, banks, construction companies, and other critical sectors of Dubai’s economy to plan ahead and retain the flexibility to adapt to changes in economic conditions and consumer sentiment.

Dubai Exports launches 2nd trade mission to Argentina, Brazil and Chile

Release Date: 08 June 2011

Engr. Saed Al Awadi

Dubai Exports, an agency of the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED), Government of Dubai, is progressing in further increasing its exports and trade relations with various organisations and institutions in South America particularly in the countries of Argentina, Brazil and Chile.

After successfully launching a trade mission to South America in 2010, Dubai Exports has organised a bigger trade mission to these countries this year. Happening from 11 to 20 June and with more than 15 companies from Dubai and the UAE participating, the trade mission aims to open new markets in South America for local companies in the country.

“Our highly successful government mission to Argentina, Brazil and Chile last year gave us the privilege of meeting and discussing various aspects of closer economic cooperation with South America’s leaders. The mission in 2010 has opened several doors of investment and trade on both sides with several of our governmental and semi-governmental mission partners, now working closely with the South American governments on projects of mutual interest,” said Engineer Saed Al Awadi, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Exports.

“We at Dubai Exports continue to create an environment that will create export opportunities for our local companies and this South American mission will further foster our strong trade relations and will open up new and potential sectors for our economies,” Al Awadi added.

Among the activities the UAE delegates will undertake include high level meetings with the Brazilian and Argentinean Arab Chambers of Commerce, PROCHILE, among other local and federal government entities in the three countries, to provide the participants with on-the-ground technical and regulatory information on the intricacies of bilateral trade with South America. There will also be company and market visits, as well as meetings and B2B programmes with South American companies. 

Dubai Exports has obtained the participation of Dubai-based companies in various services and goods sectors such as Infrastructure and Engineering Design, Business Consultants, Hospitality Goods & Services, Packaging, Iron & Steel, Food & Beverage.

Among the companies included in the mission are Global Strategic Alliances General trading LLC, Al Ghurair Iron & Steel LLC, AST Group of Companies, Cramer Salamian (Abdulla Al-Ali & Associates), Kimoha Entrepreneurs Ltd, Emirates Airlines, Shelfco Metal Industries, Taghleef Industries, United Investment Bank Limited, Yusr Islamic Investment Bank, RACH Charity Foundation, Polyurea Industries Corporation, and Zahrat Al Hayat Trading

Second Exporters Forum tackles local & international export services

Release date: 14th December 2010

UAE is striving to become one of the leading exporting countries in the world, said Engineer Saed Al Awadi, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Exports (EDC), an agency of the Government of Dubai’s Department of Economic Development (DED) during his keynote address at the Second Exporters Forum.

“Although this vision is still distant due to a major challenge posed by the dumping policy ¬of some major industrial countries and with their long history in manufacturing that is hard to compete with, yet our government is willing and able to overcome such challenges,” Al Awadi said.

“We are fortunate to have such leadership who believes in our capabilities and capacity to attain the future economic prosperity of the UAE. This vision motivates us more to work hard and accomplish in a few years what others have done in decades,” he added.

The forum received an overwhelming response from local and regional exporters, manufacturers and government officials, who attended the event to discuss the current exports and trade services as well as opportunities available to private sector companies. The forum also focused on ways to increase UAE exports to major markets across the world in the coming years. 

“Since our establishment, we have achieved several milestones showing concerted efforts in providing the appropriate support to the local exporting community to expand internationally. EDC was also recognised by the International Trade Promotion Organisation (TPO-ITC) as one of the top 10 TPOs - the only organisation to be in such a list within three years of its establishment. 

“According to industry indicators by Dubai Trade, foreign trade has increased to 21% in the first three quarters of 2010 as compared to the same period last year. Dubai Direct Exports rose to 35%, the total re-exports increased by 25% while the imports grew by 17% in the same period,” Al Awadi said.

He also explained that the second edition of the Exporters Forum is one of the most important tools to equip businesses with the right tools to succeed in a competitive global marketplace. “Today marks our aim of making it an annual fixture on the UAE’s events calendar. We want this forum to be the venue for facilitating the growth of the local export sector and discuss different approaches to make this sector successful,” Al Awadi added.

Entitled “Be a Partner in Economic Development”, the forum was also attended by His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of the Department of Economic Development (DED); along with other heads of different government and semi government agencies and corporations. Some of the leading manufacturing companies were among the private firms present at the forum.

In the first session, Fatma Al Hussani, Director, Trade Marks Department under the Ministry of Economy, discussed the role of the department and how private firms can register for trademarks. She also talked about the measures and procedures for the declaration of a trademark in the region.

Mahmood Bastaki, Director, Dubai Trade, shared the role of the agency in international trading and exporting. As the single window channel to the online services of DP World, Dubai Customs, Economic Zones World and Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza), Dubai Trade provides streamlined flow of services in trade and logistics operations in Dubai.

Among the portal services Bastaki mentioned were services for  Traders, Shipping Lines and Agents, Clearing and Forwarding Agents, Haulers, and Free Zone Licensees, and include Marine services, Manifest and Cargo handling services, Cargo Clearance and Haulage services, Invoicing and Payment services, Free Zone services, and Electronic Warehouse Receipts services.

Meanwhile, Nehmat Ayyash, Chief, Trade Information Division at Arab Trade Financing Program (ATFP) explained the organisation’s financing facilities and services available for the development of the production capabilities and competitiveness of exporters in the Arab region. Ayyash added that the program’s services promote trade exchange within Arab markets aimed at establishing an Arab free trade area and unified economies in the region.

In addition, Abdelaziz Abubakr, Head, Marketing Department of the Sudanese Free Zones & Markets (SFZ), discussed how it has attracted many investors regionally and globally as well as the export opportunities Sudan presents to UAE industry sector. Other topics discussed during the forum were the services provided by the companies under EDC such as the Dubai Sub-contracting & Partnership eXchange Program (SPX), and the Export Credit Insurance Company of the Emirates (ECIE).

EDC’s representation offices in Saudi Arabia (OTO-KSA) and India (OTO-India) also presented their services. The second half of the forum consisted of bilateral meetings with ATFP, OTO-KSA, OTO-India and Dubai SPX, which were attended by interested companies from the private sector.

The Second Exporters Forum was supported by Khaleej Times, CNBC Arabia and Ganty Advertising & Publishing LLC.

Mohammed Bushanain

Dubai, 6 October, 2010: Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman - Dubai Airports, President – Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and CEO – Emirates Group, the Department of Economic Development (DED) will organize the “Share Best Practice 2010” Conference & Exhibition on Tuesday, 12 October, 2010. The event is aimed at promoting the culture of quality and excellence among the business community in Dubai.

The annual full-day conference, to be held at the Safinah Ballroom in Jumeirah Beach Hotel, will provide the 2009 winners of Dubai Quality Award (DQA), Dubai Human Development Award (DHDA) and Dubai Service Excellence Scheme (DSES) with a platform to share their best practices in quality management with different organizations.

For the very first time this year, winners of the Dubai Government Excellence Program (DGEP) will also share their best practices along with the winners from the private sector. Ms Deepti Arora, Head of Global Quality, Wireless Networks, Motorola, USA, and Dr. Khalid Mohammed Al Zahed, Director of Marine Transport Department, Public Transport Agency - Roads & Transport Authority, will address the conference.

“Share Best Practice 2010 aims at promoting the culture of quality and excellence among Dubai’s businesses. The conference plays a vital role in encouraging more organisations from all sectors across the Emirate to participate in the Awards and reach the highest level of quality and excellence in line with international standards,” said Mr Ali Ibrahim, Deputy Director General for Planning and Development Affairs at DED.

“The willingness of leading organisations to share their expertise with the rest of the business community demonstrates their corporate social responsibility. The Department of Economic Development aims to further foster this co-operation among Dubai’s business community to ensure the emirate’s continued development,” said Mr Ali.

Mr Mohammed Bushanain, Executive Director, Business Excellence Centre said: “Knowledge grows when shared. The sharing of expertise will clearly pave the way for organisations to grow and develop faster, and along more integrated lines. The key to identifying and sharing best practices is to learn from others and to employ that knowledge.”

The Business Excellence Centre at DED will distribute a book outlining the best practices submitted by the winners of DQA, DHDA, DSES and DGEP in 2009. The book will include detailed entries by each of the award winners, thus enabling potential applicants to get an insight into the benefits of applying for the awards.

A specialised exhibition, which includes booths for all the winners, will be organised alongside the ‘Share Best Practice 2010’ Conference.

Admission to the conference is by invitation from the winners of the DQA, DHDA, DSES and DGEP. Those interested in participating can contact the Business Excellence Centre on 04-2020205 or visit www.dubaided.gov.ae

DED and Ajman Economic Development sign MoU

Dubai, 5 October, 2010: The Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) and Ajman Economic Department (AED) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance the UAE’s investment environment. The initiative is part of joint efforts to further strengthen the national economy and accelerate foreign direct investment to the UAE.

The MoU covers co-operation in the fields of eServices implementation, economic studies, inspection, commercial compliance and consumer protection and international relations, in addition to areas of the strategic plan, quality and excellence.

Ali Ibrahim, Deputy Director General for Planning and Development Affairs at DED, and Mahmoud Khalil Al Hashmi, Deputy Director General of Ajman Economic Department, signed the MoU. Officials from DED and Ajman Economic Department attended the signing ceremony.

As per the MoU, the two organisations will coordinate on choosing trade names and the extent of their compliance with the terms and conditions applicable to them as well as the issuance, renewal and cancellation of business licenses. They will work on linkage of businesses in coordination with other relevant bodies, also share information on any legislation or policies.

The two parties will also co-ordinate in identifying and proposing activities and common themes to facilitate access to activities and information as and when required, and the exchange of electronic reports on economic studies.

They will also identify areas of cooperation to achieve common goals and exchange information pertaining to international relations. DED and AED will work to encourage the development of UAE’s exports, explore potential for participation in local and international events, and jointly cooperate to attract foreign investment. They will also coordinate in the inspection, commercial compliance and consumer protection procedures.

Ali Ibrahim, said: “We are pleased to sign the agreement with Ajman Economic Department, which will contribute to enhancing the level of services provided to customers by exchanging expertise and information to raise the level of services and keep pace with the rapid development of the emirate. The agreement is an example of the strong commitment of business and government organisations in Dubai to work together to raise the UAE’s stature as a global investment destination.”

“Ajman Economic Department is focused on the comprehensive development of its activities and services. Our cooperation with DED will enhance the level of performance as per international best practices,” said Al Hashmi. “We are committed to strengthening business growth, and will exchange information with DED to further enhance the investment environment of the UAE.”

The MoU stipulates on exchanging and unifying economic studies, holding joint seminars, building direct channels of communication. Both organisations seek to improve communication, exchange visits and adopt best practices in the training of the concerned staff, in addition to developing the administrative capacities in the financial, communication and human resources

DQA Workshop

Dubai, 2 August, 2010: The Business Excellence Centre at the Department of Economic Development (DED) conducted the third self-assessment workshop for companies that are potential participants in the 2010 cycle of the Dubai Quality Award (DQA).

The workshop focused on conducting the self-assessment of companies and the logistics involved in preparing a well-organized award submission document, based on the current European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) 2010 Excellence Model.

“We recommend self-assessment as the first step to participate in the DQA as it enables participating companies to examine their existing strategies and working practices against the DQA criteria. This will allow them to identify their strengths and areas of improvement,” said Mr Mohammed Bushanain, Executive Director, Business Excellence Centre, DED.

“Companies that undergo this comprehensive self-assessment exercise should carry the process further to prepare a full submission document, which can then be submitted to the Award office for qualification by a team of assessors,” he added

The DQA workshop was conducted by Mr Norman Hughes, Business Improvement Consultant, Footloose Enterprises Ltd, UK, who focused on the use of the latest EFQM 2010 Excellence model, which helps organisations to improve their overall performance. Mr Hughes urged all attendees to use the DQA criteria as a vehicle for introducing change, and improving activities and innovation in their own organisations, as well as while applying for the Award.

“The methodology used in the workshops concentrated on interactive learning techniques that will help individuals to adapt to a specific environment,” said Mr Hughes.

Mr Bushanain called upon companies all over the UAE, wishing to participate in the DQA to begin the process early and to focus on the journey to enhance their quality standards. “We stress the importance of allowing sufficient ‘quality’ time for the preparation process. This would enable companies to acquire and build on the skills that are vital in preparing a successful submission document,” he added.

More than 25 senior managers and executives representing different sectors of Dubai-based organizations including manufacturing, construction, finance, trading, higher education, healthcare, tourism and services, attended the workshops.

DHDA Workshop

Dubai, 27 July, 2010: The Business Excellence Centre at the Department of Economic Development (DED) organised a 2-day workshop on the Dubai Human Development Award (DHDA), for potential applicants this year. The workshop was intended to facilitate the application process by helping companies in conducting a self assessment and then preparing their submission content.

The initiative is part of promoting the cause of national human resources development and ensuring that nationals are provided with an adequate environment for growth and development within organisations.

Mr Alaa Garad, CEO, International Performance Excellence Company, who led the workshop, presented an overview of the criteria for evaluation developed by the advisory body, the application process and other aspects pertaining to the award. More than 18 representatives from major private sector companies participated in the workshop, which was followed by a debate where all questions relating to the award were discussed.

“The Dubai Human Development Award assumes great significance in view of the growing number of young UAE nationals joining the workforce and the increasing challenges to Emiratisation,” said Mohammed Bushanain, Executive Director of the Business Excellence Centre. “The award promotes close co-operation between the government and private sector and encourages companies and establishments operating in Dubai to evaluate and reiterate their commitment to national human resources development.”

The DHDA is open to all UAE-based establishments in the private and government sectors that invest in national human resources and facilitate their growth and development within their organisation. The last date for receiving submission documents for the award is 31 October, 2010.

DHDA is given in three categories – The Dubai Human Development Appreciation Programme (DHDAP), The Dubai Human Development Award and the Gold Category. The award covers a range of economic sectors including trade, manufacturing, construction, professional, services, tourism, healthcare, higher education, financial services and government.

Applications will be evaluated by a team of experts, who will conduct site visits and prepare detailed assessment reports highlighting the existing best practices and the areas for improvement in each company. The examiners evaluate applications on the basis of four criteria - commitment (20 per cent), process (45 per cent), results (29 per cent) and contribution to society (six per cent).