Dubai Trade, a cross-border trade facilitator, has announced that nearly 17,000 new firms were registered with it in 2015 with close to 20 million online transactions carried out during the year.

The transactions were up 5 per cent compared to 2014, the organisation said.  

Among other details, Dubai Trade’s secured ePayment gateway “Rosoom” recorded 1.1 million transactions amounting to Dh1.2 billon ($326.69 million).

Rosoom has adopted the second generation of the e-dirham system as an additional payment mode, adding to its security and flexibility. Through its portal, Dubai Trade offers access to more than 820 integrated electronic services covering a wide range from manifest and cargo handling through to invoicing and payments for different users including traders, shipping lines, forwarding agents, hauliers and free zone licensees.

Dubai Trade was voted the “Training and Education Provider of the Year” at the Supply Chain and Transport Awards (Scata) 2015 for the third consecutive year as well as being internationally accredited by the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport.

In 2015, as many as 132 e-Services training sessions were carried out with 1,532 candidates. More than 260 individuals were also officially certified after attending The Certified Trade and Logistics Professional (CTLP) programme. The year also witnessed the launch of the Certified Customs Broker (CCB), a professional course that provides an insight into customs laws and regulations in the region. Five sessions have been held with 65 graduates, it added.

Meanwhile, Dubai Trade’s annual flagship event, the E-Services Excellence Award, announced a new theme and categories for smart services to encourage the use of mobile services alongside an innovation award to highlight the most innovative project in trade and logistics developed by companies based in the UAE. It also launched the Innovation and Idea Hub for staff.

Mahmood Al Bastaki, CEO of Dubai Trade, said: “We encourage our people to develop their capabilities and come up with creative ways of reaching our goals and believe employee engagement can contribute to our success.”