Private companies in UAE urged to adopt innovation

The UAE is seeking to transform into an innovation economy by adopting best global organisational practices for the emirate to become a centre of creativity and innovation in the world, said Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy.
He called upon the UAE companies to adopt best global practices in order to enhance the competitiveness of the national economy.
"The economic growth witnessed by the country wouldn't have been possible without the support of the private sector, and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award encourages these companies to be innovative and creative in all their business practices and activities," said Al Mansouri.
He was speaking at the opening of the International Conference for the launch of the 9th cycle of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award 2015 along with the 1st cycle of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Innovation Award 2015 in Dubai on Tuesday.
He asked UAE companies to apply global best institutional excellence practices in their everyday business activities and contribute towards enhancing the competitiveness of the national economy by enriching the country's reputation as an outstanding destination for foreign investments while also bringing good name to the company.
Al Mansouri further stressed that innovation excellence is key to our quest and is leading our movement towards a knowledge economy. "Nurturing an ecosystem for innovation, excellence and value creation, the GCC region, in its entirety, will gain much from this transformation to innovation economy," he said.
"Over the years, the award has adopted the latest global institutional excellence practices and inspired the business community to adopt best organisational practices, and the concepts of innovation and excellence," said Al Mansouri.
He further stressed that during its 8th cycle, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award has seen a 12.5 per cent rise in the number of participating companies compared to its previous cycle thus bringing the total number to 1,200 companies, which clearly reflects the reputation of the award as a major tool for measuring excellence and institutional performance in the country and the region.
In his welcome address, Hamad Buamim, President and CEO, Dubai Chamber, and Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award, said that the award has led the march of excellence and innovation in the Gulf business communities, adding that the prestigious award which during its eight previous cycles has honoured 129 companies, has instilled a culture of excellence and innovation among the private sector companies in the UAE.
Expressing his happiness in launching the ninth session of the award on the occasion of the UAE Innovation Week, Buamim pointed out that the award is open to companies of different types and sizes across all economic sectors in the UAE and the GCC region as they can also participate in the new Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Innovation Award launched by the Ministry of Economy in cooperation with Dubai Chamber in this Year of Innovation to encourage national companies and organisations to adopt innovation in their operations and services and to enhance the country's stature in global competitiveness reports that rates international businesses for ease of doing business.
The President and CEO of Dubai Chamber further stressed that the award is one of its kind honour to stimulate innovation in companies in the UAE and the GCC region while encouraging them to adopt innovation for success in their organisations as well as to enhance their competitiveness and reputation in the business world. He also invited companies to participate in both the awards.
Buamim also informed about the Chamber's launching of the  results of the Dubai Innovation Index on Monday which revealed that Dubai occupies a higher rank than some of the world's leading innovation-driven cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Madrid, Istanbul, Moscow, Milan, Sao Paulo and Mumbai.
According to the survey, Dubai ranked 16th out of the 28 peer global cities which are currently considered the most prominent players in the field of innovation and creativity registering an innovation rate of 39.14 per cent while Dubai progressed to 11th place in the world for its efficiency in innovation outputs.
Organised under the theme "The Innovation Economy: Nurturing an Ecosystem for Innovation, Excellence, and Value Creation," the International Conference addressed the fundamentals of developing a sustainable innovation-based ecosystem in line with the UAE Vision 2021 to move towards a more innovation-driven knowledge economy.
Speaking on various innovation and excellence topics were internationally renowned business excellence, technology, and innovation experts, as well as policy makers.
- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com