Emirates partners with HiDubai to support Dubai SMEs

Emirates has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HiDubai, a consumer tech initiative, to engage local businesses and offer them greater access to international market opportunities through its Business Rewards programme.

The MoU was signed by Nabil Sultan, Emirates Executive Vice President for Passenger Sales and Country Management, and His Excellency Abdul Baset Al Janahi, CEO & Board Member HiDubai.

Under the new agreement, Emirates will reach and engage with the over 180,000 small and medium businesses on the HiDubai platform which span manufacturing, logistics, retail, service based, among numerous other categories to enrol in its Business Rewards programme, with the aim for these SMEs to start benefiting from travel opportunities that can help grow their businesses and reward them when they travel with the airline.

Emirates has over 40,000 small and medium sized businesses enrolled in its Business Rewards programme, and businesses benefit from simplified enrolment, earning and redemptions when traveling, flexibility on retaining and using points as well as upgrade opportunities based on availability. The airline will also be serving SMEs registered on the HiDubai platform with other exclusive travel offers.

Nabil Sultan said: “Emirates has been a long-standing supporter of Dubai and the wider UAE’s SME ecosystem, and we’re pleased to partner with HiDubai to help small and medium sized businesses, an important pillar and valuable generator of economic activity, to scale up their activities and explore more opportunities when they travel with us. We’re looking forward to providing these businesses with a simple way to earn points and be rewarded with their loyalty, and better meet the needs of this dynamic and growing sector in Dubai.”

Abdul Baset Al Janahi said: “HiDubai.com, powered by AI, is a dynamic business discovery platform that enhances local search and fortifies Dubai’s SME ecosystem across B2B and B2C domains. With a robust business dashboard, HiDubai garnered over 3 million business leads for SMEs in the previous year alone. Recognizing the escalating importance of the SME sector, we’re excited to expand the Emirates Airlines business rewards program to SMEs in Dubai through this innovative tech alliance. This synergy will empower SMEs to optimize operational efficiency and realize substantial cost-saving benefits.”

The HiDubai platform’s mission is to become a value enabler for B2C, B2B and online to offline transactions that help people connect with businesses in Dubai and provide then with accurate and reliable information.  HiDubai is also supporting businesses in Dubai to adopt technology for more effective customer engagement. HiDubai allows users to discover new places and companies through the most credible information online, and make informed choices based on community reviews and ratings of local businesses. It also provides local businesses with a digital identity to ensure they are visible to the wider public.  The HiDubai team does field visits to ensure business information, contact details, addresses and GPS coordinates are accurately listed on its website and app.

Recognising that small and medium sized businesses are vital to the economic strength of the communities it serves, Emirates has been a staunch supporter of SMEs, not only through its Business Rewards programme, but also by a focus on identifying local, home-grown businesses in the UAE and across its network for the procurement of products and services.

Hundreds of small and medium sized businesses in a range of industries from around the world have and continue to be part of the Emirates supply chain, and all have benefitted from showcasing their unique products to Emirates’ global customer base, providing a boost to their growth aspirations.

In the UAE, Emirates prioritises SMEs as part of its tendering process, and is actively committed to work with government partners in identifying businesses and evaluating the performance of active suppliers on a regular basis.