His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, announced the Dubai-it Award for 6 winners across diverse sectors in recognition of their exceptional achievements that embody Dubai’s philosophy of work, which is based on turning ideas and ambitions into tangible results in record time, with high quality, and with an impact that goes beyond the boundaries of projects, institutions, and sectors.
The award was presented to Emirates NBD in the Institutions category in the Economic Field; to Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and CEO of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre in the Project Managers segment; and to Mahdi Amjad, founder of OMNIYAT, in the Real Estate Projects category.
In the field of Services, the award went to Ounass, developed by Khalid Al Tayer; and in the field of Entrepreneurs to Charlie Wright, founder of Humantra; while the award in the field of Hospitality went to Chef Izu Ani, founder of a series of restaurants in Dubai.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said: “We launched the Dubai-it Award to showcase Dubai’s philosophy of work in action across every field: extraordinary achievement, in record time, with excellence.”
Global benchmarks
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan said: “The Dubai-it Award for Institutions in the Field of Economy goes to Emirates NBD for exceptional regional growth, expansion and continued improvement in its services and products. The award for Project Managers goes to Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of DMCC, for developing the diamond trade and building trade hubs across multiple sectors. In Real Estate Projects, the award goes to Mahdi Amjad, founder of OMNIYAT Group, for turning world-renowned architects’ designs into landmarks that enrich Dubai’s skyline. In Services, it goes to Ounass, through which Khalid Al Tayer created a luxury shopping experience that began in Dubai and delivered exceptional results.”
His Highness added: “The Dubai-it Award for Entrepreneurs goes to Charlie Wright, founder of Humantra, for building the world’s fastest-growing electrolyte brand from Dubai. In Hospitality, it goes to Chef Izu Ani for developing 30 projects that combine quality execution with Dubai’s hospitality standards and expanding their global presence.”
His Highness concluded by saying: “Dubai-it is our philosophy of work that applies across every sector, delivering results worthy of Dubai’s name and its projects. Congratulations to all the winners of the inaugural Dubai-it Award.”
His Excellency Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Chairman of The Executive Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said: “The diversity of the Dubai-it Award winners reflects what Dubai’s leadership has offered in terms of a development experience and a philosophy of work that open up horizons of achievement across different fields. Despite the differences in their experiences, what unites them is their adoption of the Dubai-it approach in turning ambition into tangible results. These examples give institutions, managers, entrepreneurs, and talents a practical reference for elevating their performance and embedding this approach in their work culture.”
His Excellency added: “We want the impact of the award to extend to what others achieve inspired by these experiences; to push every institution to review the ceiling of its ambition, and every business owner to shorten the distance between idea and result. The real value of the recognition is that it opens the door to new achievements, and that individual successes turn into broader progress across the various sectors of Dubai. The directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed to honour exceptional achievements made in record time raise the level of competition for the award and set before everyone a greater challenge: to achieve exceptional impact in a shorter time and with higher quality. We want every cycle of the award to present a new level of achievement, and to make what we celebrate today a starting point for something greater tomorrow.”
Institutional transformation model
The Dubai-it Award for Institutions in the field of economy was granted to Emirates NBD, in recognition of its adoption of an institutional approach that led a wide-scale banking transformation with speed and efficiency, strengthening Dubai’s position as a regional and global financial gateway.
The bank doubled the size of its business over the past years, achieved first place in the UAE in terms of revenue, deposits, and profitability, and became the highest-ranked banking brand in the country. Its digital services adoption rate reached 91%, it moved millions of customer transactions to digital channels, and it built one of the largest integrated digital banking ecosystems in the region, comprising more than 220 services.
The bank launched investment programmes that included digital investment, fractional bonds and sukuk, and digital asset services, in addition to gold and silver bars, which expanded investment opportunities in precious metals.
The bank also expanded its services in a number of international markets, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Kingdom, India, Singapore, and Türkiye, as part of a strategy aimed at strengthening its regional and global presence.
These achievements reflect Emirates NBD’s ability to achieve institutional transformation quickly and at scale, to develop banking services and products, and to entrench the Dubai-it approach in growth and global expansion.
Project integration success
Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and CEO of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, was granted the Dubai-it Award in the field of Project Managers, in recognition of his leadership of projects that contributed to developing multiple trade sectors, leveraging Dubai’s strategic location to build integrated trade and business ecosystems, and achieving exceptional results in record time.
Ahmed bin Sulayem adopted an approach based on studying sectors, understanding value chains, identifying opportunities, and turning them into integrated projects. He oversaw the development of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre to include more than 26,000 companies from more than 180 countries, employing more than 90,000 people.
He managed an integrated project to develop the diamond sector that included building the infrastructure and trading platforms and attracting global markets, until Dubai became the world’s largest hub for trading rough and polished diamonds. He also continued to develop the trade in gold and precious metals and link it to global markets, while strengthening the emirate’s standing in the coffee and tea trade by developing storage, processing, packaging, training, and export facilities.
These achievements embody the philosophy of Dubai-it, which is based on studying opportunities in depth, building integrated projects around them, and turning them into globally pioneering achievements that deliver exceptional results in record time.
Building distinctive landmarks
Mahdi Amjad, Founder and Executive Chairman of OMNIYAT, received the Dubai-it Award in the Field of Real Estate Projects, in recognition of his success in making architecture the foundation of real estate development, and turning exceptional architectural designs into landmarks that added to Dubai’s skyline.
Mahdi Amjad founded OMNIYAT in Dubai, adopting an approach that combines architectural vision, execution, and quality through collaboration with an elite group of leading architects, designers, and global brands, including Zaha Hadid, Foster + Partners, Gilles & Boissier, and Dorchester Collection.
Amjad led the transformation of Zaha Hadid’s design for The Opus project into one of Dubai’s most prominent architectural landmarks, and in The Lana project, he combined the design of Foster + Partners with the expertise of Dorchester Collection, to present the group’s first hotel in the Middle East. The hotel entered the list of the world’s 50 best hotels within eight months of its opening.
The OMNIYAT experience embodies the philosophy of Dubai-it in making design a driver of real estate value, and turning bold architectural ideas into projects and landmarks that carry the name of Dubai and add qualitative value to the emirate’s urban and tourism landscape.
Redefining luxury shopping standards
The award in the field of Services was granted to the Ounass project, developed by Khalid Al Tayer, in recognition of its success in building an integrated online luxury shopping experience that started in Dubai and redefined the concept of fast service in the sector, by delivering products to customers in under two hours.
Ounass relies on distribution centres within Gulf markets and offers more than 1,300 regional and global brands, achieving an average delivery time of 89 minutes in Dubai, in an experience that combines ease of shopping, payment, and returns with speed of service.
Within a short period, the project’s sales doubled and its customer base grew, making it the region’s leading platform for digital luxury commerce, embodying the Dubai-it approach in creating exceptional success, building an integrated experience, and turning speed and quality of service into a new standard for luxury shopping.
Unlocking global markets
Charlie Wright, founder of Humantra, received the Dubai-it Award in the field of Entrepreneurs, in recognition of his success in founding a brand that started in Dubai and became one of the world’s leading brands in electrolyte supplements, offering customers products that combine effectiveness and good taste and have become part of their daily lives.
Wright started his project from a single office, then developed Humantra and made it the leading brand in the UAE electrolyte market, with a market share exceeding 80%. The brand’s presence extended to 10 global markets, and it reached more than two million customers within 15 months, and it also became the most searched brand globally in the electrolyte category.
The project reflected the essence of Dubai-it by turning a personal experience and a simple idea into a global brand, building a product capable of competing in international markets, and achieving exceptional growth with speed, quality, and ambition.
Unique hospitality concepts
Chef Izu Ani was granted the Dubai-it Award in the field of Hospitality, in recognition of his success in developing leading brands in the restaurant and hospitality sector that started in Dubai and reached global stature, achieving exceptional success in record time.
Izu presented a series of distinctive restaurants and hospitality experiences in Dubai, including Carine, Gaia, Shanghai Me, La Maison Ani, Alaya, La Petite Ani, Sirene by Gaia, and Kigo, and within a record period of time, the presence of his projects extended to Monte Carlo, London, Marbella, Miami, Bodrum, and Saint-Tropez, presenting global hospitality projects from Dubai.
Chef Izu’s projects embodied the Dubai-it approach in turning ideas into global brands that combine quality of experience with speed of growth, and consolidate the emirate’s position as a centre for creating distinctive hospitality concepts and exporting them to the world.
The announcement of the six winners completes the list of winners of the first edition of the Dubai-it Award.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum had previously honoured His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, with the award in recognition of his leadership of an exceptional development journey for one of the largest and most integrated aviation ecosystems in the world.
His Highness also announced the granting of the award to the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai for Institutions in the field of government, for delivering infrastructure projects at twice the speed of global averages and with high quality; to the Red Carpet project of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs in Dubai, for Projects in the field of government, for developing the fastest travel procedure completion experience in the world; and to Emaar Properties, for Institutions in the field of real estate, for consolidating Dubai’s global reputation for quality in its largest projects and in their finest details.
The list of winners included Ziina, for Companies in the field of business, for facilitating financial transactions for thousands of individuals and companies; the SWS Board Technology project, for Projects in the field of economy, for manufacturing about half of the world’s water skis and wakeboards and a quarter of the world’s snowboards from Dubai; and the Fix Dessert Chocolatier, for Projects in the field of business, for launching ‘Dubai Chocolate’ and turning it into a global phenomenon that had an exceptional impact on the chocolate sector.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, had launched the Dubai-it initiative to embody Dubai’s philosophy of work and its development model based on achievement, hard work, and determination to turn ambitions into tangible achievements in record time.
The initiative aims to consolidate a culture of achievement in institutions and companies, and to turn Dubai’s philosophy of work into a sustainable institutional approach based on speed, mastery, and impact-making.
On the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Dubai-it Award was launched, an annual recognition to honour individuals, projects, institutions, and companies that achieve exceptional accomplishments according to Dubai’s philosophy of work, and translate ideas and ambitions into tangible results in record time and with high quality.
The award aims to highlight the models that embody the true meaning of ‘Dubai-it,’ which is to achieve something exceptional with mastery, excellence and in record time, and to present inspiring experiences that contribute to strengthening a culture of achievement, work, and impact-making across diverse sectors.
