By Desmond Nleya
The UAE Ministry of Finance has secured the prestigious Procurement Excellence Award at the World Procurement Awards 2026 held in London, outperforming major international contenders including American Airlines, NASA, and Deutsche Telekom.
The award, presented by Procurement Leaders, recognised the Ministry’s groundbreaking AI-powered digital procurement transformation across the UAE federal government sector.
Representing the Ministry at the ceremony was Nadia Sultan Al Ali, who accepted the honour on behalf of the institution.
Central to the achievement is the Ministry’s Digital Procurement Platform, an advanced unified system that now connects more than 50 federal entities through artificial intelligence-driven procurement services. The platform has dramatically improved efficiency, slashing procurement cycle times by 75 percent while reducing processing periods for catalogue-listed purchases from more than 60 days to less than six minutes.
The digital transformation has also generated major financial benefits, delivering savings of more than 30 percent in federal spending and surpassing AED100 million in savings during its first year alone. Supplier satisfaction has climbed to 85 percent, with the platform now supporting over 17,000 registered suppliers nationwide.
Small and medium-sized enterprises have also seen increased opportunities through the initiative, with SME participation in government procurement rising from 22 percent to 47 percent under national content evaluation standards.
Mariam Mohammed Al Amiri said the international recognition reflects the growing strength and maturity of the UAE’s government financial management ecosystem, adding that it will further accelerate innovation, operational efficiency, and data-driven decision-making across federal entities.
In addition to boosting efficiency and reducing costs, the digital procurement system has eliminated the use of more than one million sheets of paper annually, supporting the UAE’s sustainability ambitions under UAE Net Zero 2050 and UAE Vision 2031.
The milestone also reinforces the UAE’s Zero Government Bureaucracy programme, aimed at simplifying procedures, reducing unnecessary administrative processes, and enhancing the speed of public service delivery across the country.
Source: Emirates News Agency.
