21 companies to offer ICV certificates: Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology

ABU DHABI, 6th September, 2021 The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology has announced the details of registration and evaluation services offered through the In-Country Value (ICV) Programme, noting that 21 companies are certified to issue national value-added certificates to suppliers. In his statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, said that registering in the programme is optional, but suppliers wishing to benefit from the programme must obtain an ICV certificate, which would help drive their businesses. These companies implement the highest transparency and efficiency standards when issuing certificates, after measuring the supplier's incountry spending on manufacturing, products and services, its net investment capital in the UAE, wage spending, employee expenses, spending on advanced technology, and research and development, he added. Moreover, Al Suwaidi explained that the existence of several certification companies ensures various pricing options for applicants, noting that the ministry is currently considering signing an agreement with these companies to provide micro and small enterprises with a fixed price for obtaining the certificate. Suppliers who join the programme can benefit from the growing demand for local products and services to expand their businesses. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs can also benefit from the opportunity to localise their supply chains and expand their businesses. Under this framework, the Emirates Development Bank allocated AED5 billion from its financing portfolio to support these companies. The programme offers many competitive advantages, including financing incentives for certificate holders, facilitating the adoption of advanced technologies, and creating opportunities to establishing international partnerships with global companies. Since His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, of the UAE's industrial strategy, "Operation 300bn", in March 2021, the ministry has intensified its efforts to highlight all features of strategy, especially the ICV Programme. The programme also empowers Emirati industries by assigning more than 42 percent of procurement and specialist services activities of the federal, government and private entities in the UAE to local suppliers, in addition to the attractive incentives associated with the ICV certificate. It will also help drive local industrial activities by leveraging enablers available in the country. Since its inception, the ICV programme resulted in the redirection of nearly AED88 billion of spending to the local economy, helped create more than 2,000 jobs for UAE nationals in the private sector, while the number of certified suppliers exceeded 5,000 across various sectors.