DED unveils smart phone app for business registration, licensing

The Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai has unveiled a first-of-its-kind smart phone application for business registration and licensing in line with the Mobile Government (m-government) initiative of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to provide 24/7 access to the public to all federal and local government services in the UAE within the next two years. The smart phone App, which will be available on iPhones in the first phase, will enable businesses and investors to conduct a range of business registration and licensing transactions, already available online, through iPhones anytime, anywhere. Services currently available on the new App includes trade name reservation, renewal of trade names, initial approval of licenses, renewal of licenses, enquiry about fines, as well as company lookup (search for existing companies operating in Dubai and gain information on their business activities). The new application will be available for free upload via Apple Store on 3 June 2013. "The e-services launched from time to time by the Department of Economic Development have significantly improved the ease of doing business in Dubai. We are keen to support the Mobile Government initiative of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum as it will add to overall competitiveness in Dubai and the UAE and will allow us to showcase our alignment with the future," said Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of DED. Al Qamzi added: "The main focus of DED and its agencies is on positioning Dubai on the map of the most competitive cities in the world, which in turn will support trade and retail activity, as well as promote economic well-being and sustainable economic development." Mohammed Shael Al Saadi, Chief Executive Officer of the Business Registration '&' Licensing (BRL) sector in DED said that the App is a strategic addition to business in Dubai as 95 per cent of the BRL services are available online. "Unrestrained access to government services in Dubai will be another major advantage for businessmen and investors for whom the emirate is a destination of choice. We will bring more BRL services on the new App and also extend it to the iPad and Android platforms in the next phase," Al Saadi said. As part of upgrading in-house capabilities in line with the future DED had organised training programmes on Apps development for its Information Technology (IT) staff by the end of 2012 and the team had also worked on developing a Beta version of the BRL App. "The new App is a major triumph for our IT staff who worked relentlessly on this project, demonstrating strong commitment and eventually a readiness to respond to the challenges of future. I congratulate every member of the team and appreciate their eagerness to update their skills and knowledge," said Abdullah Hassan, Executive Director, Shared Services Sector in DED.