• The Business Excellence Awards recognises exceptional business establishments and organisations in the UAE
  • Helal Almarri: “Inspired by the visionary leadership of our wise leaders, Dubai has become a benchmark for excellence, creativity, and productivity, which are key drivers of a successful and sustainable business ecosystem.”
  • The 29th edition of the Awards witnessed 30% increase in the number of applicants, while the net increase over the past 29 years has been more than 120%
  • More than 700 Business Excellence Awards winners were honored out of 23,000 applicants for the various award edition and more than 500 mystery shoppers and 3,000 evaluators were trained.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) has honoured 46 winners in eight categories of the 29th Business Excellence Awards during a virtual ceremony held on Monday, 13 March in the presence of more than 1,000 individuals and companies. The event seeks to improve the quality, productivity and competitiveness of UAE-based businesses by recognising service excellence in business establishments and organisations.

The Awards comprises two components - the Dubai Service Excellence Scheme, launched in 2002 to promote excellence in customer service standards in the business community, and the Dubai Quality Award, which was launched in 1994 to promote organisational excellence in businesses through the EFQM Excellence Model.

26 winners were honoured in two categories of the Dubai Service Excellence Scheme and 20 winners were honoured in six categories of the Dubai Quality Award.

His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), commented: “Dubai's commitment to excellence is deeply ingrained in its DNA, and this dedication to achieving the highest standards has earned the city a well-deserved reputation on the global stage. Inspired by the visionary leadership of our wise leaders, Dubai has become a benchmark for excellence, creativity, and productivity, which are key drivers of a successful and sustainable business ecosystem. The annual hosting of the Business Excellence Awards serves as a testament to the resilience of Dubai and its pioneering approach to promoting public-private partnerships, which have played a pivotal role in enhancing the competitiveness of business establishments. The Business Excellence Awards perfectly align with Dubai's vision and strategy of becoming a future hub of business, talent, and tolerance. This is even more significant in light of the recent launch of the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. This groundbreaking economic strategy aims to consolidate Dubai's position as one of the top three global cities, and the awards serve as a crucial component of this strategy, ensuring that the emirate remains an oasis of prosperity that fulfils the ambitions and aspirations of future generations.”

His Excellency continued: “As we extend our heartfelt congratulations to the winners of the Business Excellence Awards, it is important to acknowledge that the positive momentum currently prevailing across sectors in Dubai is largely due to the passion and perseverance of these companies. These businesses have demonstrated a steadfast commitment to excellence, ensuring that it is at the heart of everything they do, thereby contributing to the preservation of Dubai's international standing. Moving forward into 2023 with renewed vigour and determination, we are grateful to our businesses and enablers for their pivotal role in transforming Dubai into a leading global economic and tourism hub.”

The Dubai Quality Gold Award

DET bestowed the prestigious Dubai Quality Gold Award upon two outstanding organisations - Sharjah Islamic Bank, a leading player in the banking sector, and Global Village, an iconic brand in the leisure and entertainment industry, are recognised for their performance and commitment to quality. DET also honoured the winners of the Dubai Quality Award in four different sectors, namely the trade sector's Jaleel Distribution LLC, the contracting sector's AG Engineering, the service sector's India Palace, and the free-zones sector's Jebel Ali Free Zone.

Dubai Quality Appreciation Award

The Dubai Quality Appreciation Award, part of the Dubai Quality Award, has recognised the outstanding achievements of 10 organisations in six different sectors. The recipients of these coveted awards are:

  • Pakistan Association (representative entities).
  • Al Najma Al Fareeda International Group from (services).
  • Blue Ocean Management Training & Consultancies (education).
  • The Millennium School from the (education).
  • Car Fare Group transportation).
  • Al Muqarram Insulation Material Industry (manufacturing).
  • Aster DM Healthcare (healthcare).
  • SAFCO International General Trading (trade).
  • Naturelle LLC (manufacturing sector).
  • Etihad Rail Company (Transportation Sector)

Dubai Smart Industry Award

Many companies were also bestowed the Dubai Smart Industry Award. The award is part of the Dubai Quality Award to involve the industrial sector in Dubai’s march towards excellence, encouraging the digital transformation of industries in line with the objective set in the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030 to elevate the emirate into a platform for knowledge-based, sustainable and innovation-focused industries. The award winners are:

  • Network international from the services sector (finance).
  • Reel Entertainment from the hospitality sector (leisure & entertainment).
  • Alfutaim’s HealthHub (healthcare).

In addition to VFS (GCC) from Service Sector which won the category of the Dubai Quality Global Award 2023

‘Best Service Performance Brand 2023’

The ‘Best Service Performance Brand 2023’ awards of the Dubai Service Excellence Scheme, is aimed at promoting excellence in customer service standards in the private sector and recognising businesses that offer excellent service for their customers. The winners include:

  • The Dubai Mall (shopping centres).
  • Carters - Lals Group (fashion retail).
  • Al Rostamani International Exchange (services).
  • Aafaq Islamic Finance PSC (services).
  • Life Pharmacy- Life Healthcare Group (health & wellness)
  • Aster Pharmacy (health & wellness)
  • REEL CINEMAS (hospitality & entertainment)
  • Global Village (hospitality & entertainment).
  • aswaaq (hypermarkets & general retail).
  • Grand Stores (hypermarkets & general retail)
  • Interiors (specialised retail).
  • INFINITI – Arabian Automobiles (pecialized retail).
  • Mai Dubai Bottled Drinking Water (e-services – contact centre).
  • 6thSTREET (e-services – mobile application).
  • Joyalukkas (GCC).
  • Matalan (GCC)

Best Service Performance Branch 2023

Winners of the Best Services Performance Branch awards:

  • The Face Shop -Al Wahda Mall (fashion retail).
  • The Watch House -Bawadi Mall (fashion retail).
  • National Bonds Corporation - Abu Dhabi Branch (services).
  • Health First Pharmacy 24 Southridge- Downtown (health & wellness).
  • Nando’s – Mall of the Emirates (hospitality & entertainment).
  •  Ski Dubai (hospitality & entertainment).
  • Lulu Hypermarket - Al Barsha (hypermarkets & general retail).
  • LAKELAND - Mall Of The Emirates (hypermarkets & general retail)
  • Geekay - Al Khawaneej WALK (specialised retail).
  • Peugeot, Swaidan Trading Co - Shaikh Zayed Road (specialised retail).

This year's awards highlighted an impressive increase of 30% in the number of applicants, showcasing the growing level of awareness and the desire of companies to embrace and adhere to quality. Over the past 29 years, the Dubai Quality Awards have experienced a net increase of more than 120%, reflecting the consolidation of these concepts in the local business landscape. Over the years the event has honoured more than 700 winners, who were carefully selected from a competitive pool of 23000 applicants across various editions of the award. In addition to recognising outstanding performance, the awards also involved training over 500 mystery shoppers, 3000 evaluators, and 130,000 performance evaluation reports highlighting areas for improvement for applicants in the award categories. These initiatives are aimed at nurturing a culture of continuous improvement and driving sustainable growth in the region's business sector.

The Dubai Service Excellence Scheme is an innovative and unparalleled initiative aimed at elevating the standard of customer service in the business sector while fostering a culture of trust, ethical behaviour, and best practices. The scheme recognises and rewards businesses that align with Dubai's vision for quality and customer service, while also promoting organisations that strive to exceed expectations and maintain the high reputation of the Service Excellence Scheme members.

The Dubai Quality Award encourages and motivates companies and institutions to adopt an international framework, with best practices, to achieve excellence and be recognised as role models, honour leading institutions for their services, ensure a mechanism for institutions to evaluate performance and provide organisations with a roadmap to achieve excellence through the adoption of good practices and approaches that are used systematically and continuously measured and reviewed.

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