Emirati entrepreneurs and national enterprises in Dubai have won contracts worth $250.9 million (AED 921.6 million) from various local and federal government entities, semi-government bodies, and private businesses in 2021 as part of the Government Procurement Programme (GPP).
In terms of value, GPP contracts won by the various beneficiaries in 2021 witnessed a 3 percent increase compared to $244.12 million (AED 896.7 million) achieved in 2020, according to a report by Dubai SME, one of the agencies of the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) in Dubai.
The report also showed that since 2002, GPP has so far succeeded in facilitating contracts worth over $2.28 billion (AED 8.4 billion) for Dubai SME members, from 69 supporting entities across the government, semi-government, and private sectors.
GPP was implemented in line with the directives of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, requiring government entities and establishments in which the government holds 25 percent or more equity to allocate 10 percent of their purchasing to Emirati companies that are members of Dubai SME.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, said: “The success of the Government Procurement Programme is testament to the high priority that the Dubai government places on supporting start-ups as part of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s vision to create an environment that accelerates their growth and success and build a vibrant hub for entrepreneurial ventures in Dubai.
“The Programme has provided exceptional opportunities for local entrepreneurs to demonstrate their success in turning innovative ideas into commercially viable projects in a range of sectors. An increasing number of government and private sector entities are making important contributions to supporting the journey of entrepreneurs in Dubai.”
Contracts awarded to entrepreneurs and SMEs as part of the GPP
Since 2002, GPP has secured more than 16,934 procurement contracts for 362 Emirati companies in varied sectors.
The commercial sector accounted for 83 percent of the contracts, while 13 percent were awarded to companies in the professional sector and 4 percent to industrial firms.
The Crown Prince hailed the role Dubai SME has played in promoting entrepreneurship and start-up growth over the last 20 years, and said that from a pioneering entrepreneurship development programme in 2002, Dubai SME has evolved into a comprehensive ecosystem capable of supporting Dubai’s emergence as a centre for entrepreneurial innovation in technologies and industries of the future.
The director-general of the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai, Helal Saeed Al Marri, lauded the remarkable achievement of Dubai SME and its members, and said it reflected the confidence of the government and the private sector in the competencies of the local SME sector and its role in building a competitive and diversified economy, as well as the priority given by these sectors to creating more business opportunities for entrepreneurs.
He also called on all entities supporting GPP to continue to stimulate the performance of the SME sector in Dubai and across the UAE.
The CEO of Dubai SME, Abdul Basit Al Janahi, said: “Dubai SME focuses on providing innovative economic initiatives, support and advice to the entrepreneur community as part our strategy to promote the growth and competitiveness of national enterprises.
“The Government Procurement Programme is an opportunity for our small and medium enterprises that operate in more than 30 diverse sectors to develop and grow their business by supplying the needs of government-backed entities.”
Al Janadhi also noted that the programme has had a successful journey since its inception, enhancing SME capabilities and positioning these enterprises as major contributors to both Dubai and the UAE’s GDP.
Dubai SME works with government entities to support entrepreneurs
Dubai SME has successfully leveraged the GPP to provide an exceptional opportunity for local entrepreneurs to be part of Expo 2020 Dubai, and to demonstrate their competencies at a global event.
Expo 2020 Dubai topped the list of local government support agencies of GPP last year with contracts worth $44 million (AED 161.7 million), followed by the Roads and Transport Authority with $25 million (AED 95.2 million), Dubai Municipality with $12 million (AED 44.2 million), Dubai Health Authority with $9.9 million (AED 36.5 million), and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority with a value of $6.6 million (AED 24.5 million).
Federal government entities extended support worth $23 million (AED 84.7 million) to GPP last year and the Emirates Health Services Establishment led among them with purchases and contracts of $9.69 million (AED 35.6 million).
The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (AED 33.4 million), Ministry of Education $2.66 million (AED 9.8 million), Ministry of Community Development $925,650 (AED 3.4 million), and the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure $653,400 (AED 2.4 million) were also among the leading contributors.
The net value of support from semi-governmental entities to GPP was AED 204.9 million in 2021.
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