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Dubai, UAE; 13 October 2014: DMCC, the Government of Dubai Authority with a mandate to enhance Dubai’s position as the global gateway for commodity trade and enterprise, has been named by fDi magazine as ‘Global Free Zone of the Year for SMEs’ in their Global Free Zones of the Year rankings and awards for 2014. Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, DMCC, commented: “DMCC receiving the ‘fDi Global Free Zone of the Year for SMEs Award’ is a strong indication of Dubai’s leading role as the global destination for SMEs. “We attribute this landmark achievement to the vision and leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai to develop a vibrant SME sector and to take a leading position in empowering entrepreneurs. His Highness’ influential leadership constantly inspires DMCC to innovate and grow with one objective - to offer an inclusive marketplace where businesses can trade with confidence while ensuring Dubai continuously excels as the global hub for commodities trade and enterprise.” The judging panel selected the overall winner of the ‘fDi Global Free Zone of the Year for SMEs’ based on performance over the past year including elements such as percentage increase in tenants, strong growth and implementation of new incentives giving the Free Zone a competitive edge. Courtney Fingar, editor-in-chief, fDi Magazine said: "After triumphing in fDi's first-ever Free Zone of the Year Awards for the Middle East and North Africa this summer, DMCC has now captured the global prize. We have recognised DMCC as not only the best economic zone in the MENA region for SMEs but also in the world. While of course DMCC caters to companies of all sizes and its appeal is not restricted solely to smaller companies, our judging panel felt its offering for SMEs is particularly strong and the impressive rate at which new companies are registering in the zone reaffirms that. “The global market for free zones is extremely competitive - nowhere more so than in the Middle East and Dubai in particular - so standing out as best in class in this region and in the world is an achievement worth applauding.” 45 free zones across the world participated in the rankings including the 17 free zones who also entered the fDi Middle East and North Africa Free Zones of the Year 2014 awards earlier this year. Gautam Sashittal, Chief Executive Officer, DMCC added: “At DMCC we are passionate about nurturing and growing the thriving international marketplace we offer our Free Zone member companies including startups, SMEs and large corporations. This means continuous innovation and enhancement of our products, services and infrastructure in line with international benchmarks. The ‘fDi Global Free Zone of The Year for SMEs Award’ is testament to these efforts and we are honoured to receive this recognition as the Best Free Zone in the world for SMEs.” Today seventy per cent of DMCC’s member companies are SMEs, representing every sector ranging from trading, shipping to recruitment, IT to advertising and fashion. The broad spectrum of companies based in the DMCC Free Zone is both diverse and dynamic ranging from MEPCO Gulf – a leading paper and board trader in the Middle East; to NSI Gulf – a fast growing technology consultancy and regional leader in Salesforce implementation; to Bluefish ME, a boutique events production house; and CommsIT, a leading IT and telecom solutions company that was recently ranked in the Top 100 SMEs in Dubai. The DMCC Free Zone is also home large corporations including Alcatel Lucent Middle East and North Africa, LVMH, 7-Eleven, Nutricia Danone and Carrera Y Carrera. Visit ‘Spotlight on SMEs’ http://bit.ly/1tntEk5 to watch video interviews and learn more about the SMEs based in the Free Zone and why they chose Dubai and DMCC as the place to be for their employees, as well as what the future holds in terms of growth.