The Department of Economic Development – Ajman (DED-Ajman) has launched a new version of the new licensing and trade license model in a bid to build a competitive economy that supports the digital transformation in the UAE emirate.

The move represents a strong impetus to align the new model with Ajman's digital corporate identity, which aims to enhance the harmony between government departments in line with the objectives of Ajman Vision 2021 to create a distinguished government that is matched by changing times and market competitiveness. Licenses and permits are now available in both Arabic and English, having previously been only available in Arabic only.

The new procedure simplifies the process of issuing licenses and trade permits by reducing the number of steps taken to obtain them. In addition, a watermark was added to issued licenses to increase safety and tackle fraud. Licenses are also now being issued with a QR code, to streamline the process of obtaining information regarding the license, once it is scanned.

All license and trade permit data are stored electronically to ensure that they are not tampered with. This new technology helps government agencies verify the validity of the license, and integrate the data with ease, as well as banks and private sector companies, enabling them to obtain more accurate information on commercial licenses, thereby increasing their confidence.

DED also added a barcode to the licenses and trade permits being issued to streamline transactions by shortening the time required to complete the procedure by not entering the same data each time the procedure requires it, while avoiding human errors that may occur when entering the information into the database. The new addition reflects the quality of service offered by DED, streamlining procedures efficiently and with ease.

Saud Al Shammari, director of Registration Department of Economic and Licenses, noted that Ajman DED is committed to enhancing government services and streamlining procedures to increase the efficiency of transactions and processes in line with the strategic goals of the "Digital Transforming Plan 2017-2022.

Al Shammari emphasized that the move adheres to Ajman DED’s framework for developing mechanisms to facilitate business transactions, to meet the needs of the community and support Ajman as a hub for business.

The new procedure also contributes towards the modernization of service agent and business contracts, and has been implemented to enhance the efficiency of issuing, renewing, or modifying commercial licenses.

Through the new procedure, contract data will be entered and printed by the system – a step that was previously conducted manually. Once the license data is scanned, the information is automatically placed into the system to aid in the issuance of licenses. This procedure once required a number of steps to be accomplished, but can now be done in a more efficient and timely manner.

Yaqoub Yousuf Rasheed, director of IT Department, commented: "The launch of the new format for the issuance of licenses and trade permits comes in line with the Ajman Government's Digital Transformation Plan to facilitate customers by providing services in more efficient, easy and reliable ways. We did a comprehensive study and in-depth analysis of the traditional economic document format, and then turn it into a smart document that will facilitate the client's procedures and the procedures of the Department of Control and Consumer Protection during the inspection campaigns.”
 
“In the process of intelligent transformation, we are keen to match best practices globally by adopting the bar code and the QR code, which is currently applied to all documents issued by the Department of Economic Development, Through the introduction of digital automation and the improvement of the level of smart services in cooperation with Ajman Digital Government, supporting the Department's drive to enhance the ease of doing business to drive Ajman's drive towards leadership and competitiveness,” he added.

Ajman-DED’s Information Technology Department intends to launch and implement a series of quality projects—initially starting with launch of 50 eServices in 2017, which is running on schedule with the launch of 12 service in the beginning of 2017. Over the next few months, an average of 12 services per service pack will be announced—these include the Single Window project; the Ajman Transport Corporation will be connected before the end of this year; the modernization of the DED application on phones; the unveiling of a service package every 100 days, in cooperation with Ajman's digital government; the adoption of an authorized agent system and the start of the provision of automatic renewal of economic licenses electronically. – TradeArabia News Service