Dubai Customs Secures 17 Stevie Awards in Landmark First Entry

In its inaugural participation, Dubai Customs claimed seven gold, seven silver and three bronze awards at the seventh Stevie Awards for MENA, recognising innovations that accelerate trade while maintaining rigorous control and protection.

Innovation in service of trusted commerce does not announce itself with fanfare; it arrives quietly in the form of systems that work. Dubai Customs’ debut at the Stevie Awards for the Middle East and North Africa this September exemplified precisely this philosophy, returning from the InterContinental Istanbul with 17 awards from 24 nominations, a success rate of approximately 71 percent.

The recognition spans the breadth of the organisation’s strategic direction toward enabling trusted trade, an approach that marries procedural speed with effective oversight. The winning projects reflect an integration of artificial intelligence, smart control systems, partnerships and foresight methodologies that together serve both the business community and the integrity of goods movement across Dubai’s trade corridors.

The “Al Munasiq” platform emerged as a particular focus of the judges’ attention, securing three gold awards for artificial intelligence product innovation, product innovation and use of technology in customer service. The system reduces the time required to classify goods under the Harmonised System code from a full day to merely two seconds, employing big data analytics to guide users toward correct classification and compliance. With adoption reaching 86 percent and users spanning 117 countries, the platform has demonstrated the tangible impact of automation on both accuracy and user experience.

The “Shahin” system, which tracks trucks and shipments in real time using satellite technology and smart electronic seals along virtual customs corridors, received both a gold award for business services innovation and a silver award for achievement in collaboration and partnerships. Its integration with the Green Corridor initiative proved particularly significant during periods of regional supply chain challenge, facilitating the movement of more than 203,000 containers and over 3.16 million tons of goods valued at more than AED 33.9 billion between March and June 2026 alone.

The “Zero” project embodied a philosophy of resource stewardship that transcends conventional customs operations. By converting more than 500,000 seized counterfeit items into resources for remanufacturing, the initiative produced more than 250,000 items of winter clothing for people in need and communities affected by crises. The project won five awards across two gold, one silver and two bronze categories, reflecting its layered approach to intellectual property protection, circular economy principles and humanitarian benefit. Its partnership with Landmark Group for conversion and manufacturing, and DP World for logistics, demonstrated how collaborative thinking can transform enforcement action into positive social outcome.

Dubai Customs’ Foresight Program secured recognition for research publications and thought leadership, having produced 14 foresight studies including eight flagship reports that covered trade flows, passenger movements, trademark protection, shipping and inspection operations. The program developed 84 future scenarios and 40 strategic recommendations, with 17 projects already emerging from its outputs. The organisation received international institutional accreditation in foresight from the Global Innovation Management Institute, becoming the first customs entity in the region to achieve this distinction.

Dr. Hussam Juma, Director of the Strategy and Corporate Excellence Department, framed the achievement as an expression of the organisation’s commitment to understanding business community needs and translating those insights into clear procedures and reliable services. The awards reflect, he noted, the vision of the UAE’s leadership in harnessing innovation to create tangible impact on government performance and economic competitiveness.

Source: WAM

What it means for Abu Dhabi

Dubai Customs’ recognition at the Stevie Awards underscores the broader commitment across the United Arab Emirates to positioning its trade infrastructure as a global standard. The innovations celebrated—from artificial intelligence systems that accelerate classification to real time tracking and intellectual property protection—strengthen Dubai’s position as a trusted hub for international commerce, a designation that depends not on volume alone but on the reliability and integrity of systems that govern goods movement.

For Abu Dhabi and the wider emirates, these advances in customs efficiency and innovation carry significance beyond Dubai’s borders. As supply chains grow increasingly complex and global trade faces mounting pressures from security concerns and environmental imperatives, the methodologies and technologies that Dubai Customs has pioneered contribute to the knowledge base available across the nation’s trade ecosystem. The foresight work that informed these innovations, including studies on future trade patterns and shipping operations, helps position the entire region for the transformations ahead, in alignment with the UAE Centennial 2071 vision.

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