H.E. Bin Touq: Thanks to its wise leadership’s vision, the UAE has adopted an innovative initiative to promote sustainable digital readiness of government entities. ‘Growth’ is the latest milestone in this regard.

Abu Dhabi, October 2, 2024:

The Ministry of Economy announced the launch of the National Economic Registry (NER) - Growth - the largest unified and reliable database of enterprises and companies’ business licenses across the seven emirates. This registry combines the procedures and requirements for establishing businesses and conducting economic activities in the country into a single national portal, enhancing the provision of government services to the public by many folds.

During the ceremony, H.E. Abdulla bin Touq, Ministry of Economy, affirmed that the UAE, thanks to the vision and guidance of its wise leadership, has adopted an innovative and pioneering initiative to promote sustainable digital readiness of government entities and upgrade the government services ecosystem, making it more flexible and competitive.

Growth: A remarkable addition to the national economy

H.E. Bin Touq said: The ‘Growth’ platform is a remarkable achievement in enhancing the national economy and advancing the country’s economic development efforts. It is a new milestone in our endeavour to strengthen the digital infrastructure of the national economy, eliminate government bureaucracy, and deliver highly efficient government services with outstanding quality, ensuring the delivery of best government services globally.”

Data on more than 2,000 economic activities in the UAE

H.E. added: ‘The new platform provides proactive services and accurate and reliable information to a broad segment of society, which includes decision-makers, businessmen, investors, entrepreneurs, research and studies centres, specialist firms, and the media. It enables them to inquire about any business license in the country; find information on more than 2,000 economic activities across the seven emirates; and access investment opportunities in various economic sectors in the country. Moreover, it can help business owners in preparing studies and analyses on market trends, thus supporting their growth and enable government entities to manage economic activities digitally by relying on latest AI technologies.”

‘Growth’ platform links 46 entities in the country

The Minister of Economy added: “Today, the National Economic Registry connects more than 46 entities in the country. It uses the national identity of the unified economic number (ERN), which is a federal number, to give more information on enterprises and companies in the country through the integration of data between federal and local government entities and licensing authorities. It marks a remarkable step forward in the digital transformation of government services and in providing online services eliminating the use of hardcopies or papers, supporting the achievement of the national target to enhance the UAE’s leadership in the delivery of government services, in line with the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision.

NER to be continually updated

H.E. pointed out that the ‘Growth’ platform contributes to regularly updating the database of commercial licenses and companies in the country, providing most accurate results to its users. It also supports the country’s global credit rating with international classification bodies in terms of transparency of business performances, through adherence to the International Standard Classification System (ISIC4) for the classification of economic activities. Thus, it enhances the success of decision-makers in studying market trends and developing necessary strategies, promoting sustainable growth of various strategic sectors.

Highlights the country’s new economic model

H.E. emphasized that the NER will play a vital role in highlighting the UAE’s new economic model based on innovation and knowledge, and in consolidating its position as a global hub for the new economy by the next decade. It will achieve this goal through the opportunities and additional resources that it provides to investors and business owners, facilitating the procedures for doing business digitally. NER currently features a total of 1.5 million active and cancelled commercial licenses.

‘Growth’ platform to be linked to 100 federal and local authorities

H.E. added: “The national efforts to further enhance the ‘Growth’ platform will continue, making it more comprehensive and competitive. Over the next two years, our aim is to link it with 100 federal and local entities and licensing authorities in the country, increase the number of services provided to 500, reduce service delivery times, and eliminate all unnecessary criteria and requirements.”

The platform will support the competitiveness of the UAE’s economic legislative environment, as well as the ‘ultimate beneficial owner’ data system for the private sector, since the platform was developed in line with many economic laws in force, including Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021 regarding commercial companies, Federal Decree-Law No. 37 of 2021 on commercial register, and relevant anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism legislation. The list of services provided by NER can be viewed by visiting https://www.growth.gov.ae/G2C/

The launch ceremony organized by the Ministry was attended by H.E. Alia bint Abdulla Al Mazrouei, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, H.E. Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, H.E. Khalil Ibrahim Al Khoori, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation for Human Resources Affairs, H.E. Abdullah Ahmed Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy, H.E. Hanan Mansour Ahli, Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Center, H.E. Mohammed Saeed Al Shehhi, Secretary-General of the UAE Media Council, H.E. Ghannam Al Mazrouei, Secretary-General of the Emirati Competitiveness Council (NAFIS), and H.E. Dr. Bushra Al Mulla, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Family Care Authority. In addition, representatives from 34 federal and local entities and national companies, and 180 experts and specialists were present.

Development phases of NER

H.E. Abdulaziz Al Nuaimi, Assistant Undersecretary for Entrepreneurship sector and Economic Affairs in UAE Ministry of Economy, gave a detailed presentation on various stages of NER’s development and how commercial establishments in the country can benefit from its services, as well as the technical link with federal and local authorities and licensing authorities in the country.

Panel discusses national efforts to advance digital transformation

The launch event hosted a dialogue session titled ‘Digital Transformation for Information Exchange between Federal and Local Authorities in the Country,’ which highlighted the national efforts to advance digital transformation in the country and enhance cooperation between federal and local authorities in data integration for NER.

Partners of ‘Growth’ platform honoured

Furthermore, H.E. Bin Touq felicitated the partners of the ‘Growth’ project, most notably the Ministries of Defense, Interior, Finance, Energy and Infrastructure, Industry and Advanced Technology, Community Development, Human Resources and Emiratisation, the Federal Tax Authority, the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and the Digital Government, the Department of Economic Development in Abu Dhabi, the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai, Sharjah Economic Development Department, the Department of Economic Development in Ajman, the Department of Economic Development in Umm Al Quwain, the Department of Economic Development in Ras Al Khaimah, the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, the Fujairah Municipality, and the Dibba Al Fujairah Municipality.