Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates: Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) has secured three distinguished accolades at the 2026 Middle East & North Africa Stevie® Awards, recognising its commitment to innovation, operational excellence, and delivering an exceptional client experience.

The awards recognise the achievements of the RAKEZ Customer Experience team and its pioneering Smart Licensing model, which has transformed the post-licensing journey for businesses through a digital-first, transparent, and customer-centric approach. The initiative received both the Award for Excellence in Innovation in Business Product & Service Industries and the Award for Innovative Management in Government. In addition, Fatemah Fakhraldeen, Licensing Operations Manager at RAKEZ, was recognised as Most Innovative Operations Leader of the Year for her role in advancing the initiative and helping simplify post-licence services through digital innovation and process enhancement.

Commenting on the achievement, RAKEZ Group CEO Ramy Jallad, said, “At RAKEZ, innovation is driven by the simple objective of creating better experiences and outcomes for our business community. These awards recognise the progress we have made in transforming our services through smarter processes, digital solutions, and a client-first mindset. As the needs of businesses continue to evolve, we will remain focused on delivering services that are efficient, accessible, and designed to help companies expand and achieve more growth from Ras Al Khaimah.”

The award-winning Smart Licensing model was designed to simplify and modernise post-license services by creating a seamless digital experience for clients, business agents, and internal teams. The initiative introduced a comprehensive digital framework that streamlines processes, improves visibility, and enhances service delivery across key licensing and immigration-related transactions.

The transformation has delivered measurable results, including faster processing times, higher customer satisfaction levels, greater automation of routine services, and increased operational efficiency. By reducing manual intervention and introducing intelligent digital workflows, the model has enabled RAKEZ to provide a more responsive and convenient experience for its growing business community.

The Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards is one of the region’s leading business awards programmes, recognising innovation in all its forms with a strong focus on customer experience, organisational excellence, and business performance. The 2026 edition attracted more than 1,400 entries from organisations and individuals across 18 countries in the MENA region.

The three awards underscore RAKEZ’s continued focus on leveraging innovation to enhance service delivery, strengthen operational excellence, and create greater value for the thousands of businesses that choose Ras Al Khaimah as a base for growth and expansion.

About Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ)

RAKEZ is a powerhouse business and industrial hub established by the Government of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates. It currently hosts over 40,000 companies coming from over 100+ countries and operating in more than 50 industries.

RAKEZ offers entrepreneurs, startups, SMEs and manufacturers a wide-range of solutions, including free zone and non-free zone licences, customisable facilities, and first-class services provided in a one-stop shop. Furthermore, RAKEZ has specialised zones that are tailored to specific needs of investors: Al Nakheel and Al Hamra Business Zones for commercial and service companies; Al Ghail, Al Hamra and Al Hulaila Industrial Zones for manufacturers and industrialists; and an Academic Zone for educational providers.

A leading economic zone, RAKEZ aims to continue attracting diversified investment opportunities that will contribute to the economic growth of Ras Al Khaimah.

For more information, visit www.rakez.com.