Organisers Hope This Year’s Winners Will Inspire Others to Turn Their Ideas into Achievements by November 2027.
A small office today could become the starting point of a major company tomorrow. For those watching Dubai’s first Dubai-it Awards ceremony on Wednesday, the message was clear: one day, they too could take their place on that stage.
Thirteen winners were honoured on November 11, with achievements spanning business, government and industry. But beyond recognising their success, organisers hope the awards will give others something to aspire to.
“In Dubai, if you aspire to something, dream of it and believe in your dream, you can turn it into success, achievements and results,” Saeed Al Nazari, chief executive officer of The Development Office, told Khaleej Times at the ceremony.
Some of those recognised had started from modest beginnings before building major businesses, he said. Others, including Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, had helped shape entire sectors.
“Their experiences are different, and their backgrounds are different, but they share one approach: achieving something exceptional in record time and to a very high standard,” Al Nazari said.
For Noor Ibrahim, a member of the Dubai-it team, the ceremony was also an opportunity to showcase the Dubai roots of products that have gained international recognition.
She highlighted Humantra founder Charlie Wright and SWS Board Technology, which manufactures sports boards in Dubai for markets around the world.
“How can something exceptional, something that genuinely affects the economy and industry, come out of Dubai without people hearing about it?” she said.
“We wanted to celebrate them and give them a platform so people would know these achievements came from Dubai.”
The winners had been building their businesses long before they knew their work would be recognised with an award, Ibrahim added.
“They were doing it on their own initiative, wanting to contribute and develop themselves.”
Now, she hopes their stories will inspire others to follow a similar path.
“We want someone watching today’s ceremony to feel that, in one, two or three years, they could deserve this award and be honoured themselves,” she said.
More than 1,000 nominations were received across different sectors, according to Dubai-it team member Asma Al Menhali. The ceremony was organised in about a month, an effort she said reflected the awards’ emphasis on delivering quickly while maintaining quality.
“Speed, together with mastery and impact, that is Dubai-it,” she said.
With attention now turning to November 11, 2027, Al Menhali said the inaugural ceremony had set the stage for the city’s next generation of achievers.
“What achievements will we see? What projects will emerge in Dubai?” she said. “This is only the beginning.”
