ICV Certification - Powering Industrial Growth

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FORTIFYING LOCAL SUPPLY CHAINS The National ICV Program is a key initiative that complements other initiatives aimed at developing the industrial sector in the UAE

The National ICV Program aims to support the local industrial sector and redirect public and private-sector expenditure to the local economy, specifically to the UAE-based National ICVcertified suppliers. The UAE has now climbed five places in the 2021 United Nation’s Industrial Organisation’s Competitive Industrial Performance Index from its 2020 rank.

Muhammad Ali Bandial ali@khaleejtimes.com

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n its quest to remain at the forefront of latest technologies and to attract international companies as well as strengthen local brands, the UAE’s ICV program is just the boost that was needed. Launched in September as part of the Projects of the 50, the government-led initiative collaborates with private companies and is designed to stimulate demand for local products and services, encourage local manufacturers to diversify and attract foreign direct investment in the domestic industrial sector. The program is envisioned to lead to economic growth and support local industries by redirecting higher portions of public spending into the national economy.

Furthermore, it is hoped that the national in-country value program will open up the economy and assist in job creation by adding up to 120,000 openings. At the same time, it will reduce costs by localising supply chains, bringing in increased investment and raising the private sector’s contribution to local gross domestic product. An additional Dh 51 to 54 billion will also be injected into the local economy.

As part of the country’s efforts to extend the ICV program at the federal level, the MoIAT signed MoUs with Etihad Rail, EDGE Group and Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), which became the second set of companies to commit to the program.

The program aims to redirect Dh 55 bil-

lion of government spending on goods and services into the local economy by 2025, up from Dh 39 billion in 2020 when the unified ICV certification was created. At the same time, the growth of UAE-based industries will be encouraged as the government will redirect 50 per cent of its spending on procurements and tender contracts into the national economy by 2031. It is important to note that the total spending by federal and local government entities on goods and services reached Dh 134 billion in 2019, which translates to nine per cent of the local GDP. The ICV program bodes well for the private sector, which is projected to be the biggest beneficiary of the ICV program. In fact, one of the main goals of the government is to increase the contribution of the private sector in the national GDP. Thus, launching the National ICV program among the ‘Proj-

ects of the 50’ falls in line with the strategic goals of the National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology.

These goals encompass empowering and incentivising the UAE’s industrial sector, improving its performance and strengthening partnerships and collaboration within the private sector. Under the program, 42 per cent of government spending will be redirected to the UAEbased companies by 2025. It is further expected that by 2031, the national industrial sector’s contribution to the GDP will increase to Dh 300 billion as companies that produce goods and services in the emirates are able to fortify local supply chains.

According to government officials, the ICV program is expected to reach numerous milestones in time. Some of these include increasing the internal demand for local products and services from Dh33 billion currently to

Dh55 billion, while encouraging local manufacturers to diversify and develop their production to meet that demand.

Developing their business models and production methods will also help them meet ICV certification criteria, thus enhancing their chances of partnering with global entities seeking to leverage this opportunity.

The National ICV Program aims to support the local industrial sector and redirect public and private-sector expenditure to the local economy, specifically to the UAE-based National ICV-certified suppliers. The UAE has now climbed five places in the 2021 United Nation’s Industrial Organisation’s Competitive Industrial Performance Index from its 2020 rank. The National ICV program assists in cultivating the UAE as an optimum environment for the development and adoption of advanced technologies.

It also supports the objectives to raise in-

dustrial productivity by 30 per cent and add about Dh25 billion to the national economy over the next decade. For companies that are looking to streamline their business processes, they can can apply for an ICV certificate and participate in tenders held by public entities.

The application process includes issuing an audited financial statement based on IFRS standards, filling out an ICV template form, seeking an evaluation from one of the authorised certifying bodies and get the ICV certificate. Once they’ve applied for an ICV certificate, companies are rated through a score based on how much they have invested and hired within the country, with a higher score giving them a more competitive edge in government tenders.

In short, the ICV program is for any company, foreign or UAE-based, that has a desire to do more in the UAE and get access to procurement, contracts and tenders with entities that are implementing the ICV program. While participation in the program is optional, certified suppliers will get priority when contracts and purchases are awarded.

They will also qualify for development funding provided by the Emirates Development Bank.

GETTING THE PUZZLE PIECES RIGHT! Ashwini Kumar speaks to Arindam De, Deputy CEO and Managing Director and Harish Visweswaraiah, Country Managing Director - UAE, Protiviti Member Firm for Middle East Region about the Local Content Program (LCP) Advisory journey in the UAE

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he In-Country Value (ICV) program, implemented under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), is a UAE government program that aims to boost economic performance and support local industries by redirecting higher portions of public spending into the UAE economy.

As part of ‘Projects of the 50’, MoIAT has launched the ICV Program on a federal level, contributing to increased demand on local goods and services, promoting local capabilities and attracting foreign direct investment towards the local industrial sector. The ICV program witnessed great success since its launch in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 2018 and now continues to play a larger role across all the seven Emirates.

Protiviti established the ICV practice in 2018, concurrent to the launch of the program by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). “Protiviti was one of the pioneers in the ICV program and was empaneled as one of the first six Certifying Bodies”, says Arindam De. At the inception of the ICV program, Protiviti considered the certification initiative as a strategic project. The ICV project team comprised of professionals from diverse solutions, based across geographies. As the project forged ahead, the rapid growth of ICV requests was not without challenges. The ICV project framework needed to be reworked to manage ICV certification of numer-

ous clients in a coordinated manner and bridge the gap between strategy and implementation. Thus, Protiviti carved out a separate portfolio namely, Local Content Program (LCP) Advisory, with a dedicated and centralised team in the UAE to increase productivity, improve customer experience and optimise business processes. “It was a ‘story change’ moment for the ICV project, and we needed to focus on our clients’ need and deliver value through exceptional work.

Day by day, we put the pieces together, and today they fit into one picture,” says Harish Visweswaraiah.

Protiviti pays the utmost importance to the calibre of the team. In addition to appointing experienced professionals, year-round training is an essential part of the ICV certification process and

From the kick-off meeting, throughout project fieldwork and review, to finalisation of ICV certificate and exploring the opportunities to improve the ICV score, the LCP team oversaw every element with patience, precision and expertise.

Arindam De Deputy CEO and Managing Director necessary to ensure knowledge sharing among the team and compliance with the ICV requirements.

Trainings are provided, and regular tests conducted to meet Protiviti’s stringent internal standards and maintain the highest quality of deliverables.

From the kick-off meeting, throughout project fieldwork and review, to finalisation of ICV certificate and exploring the opportunities to improve the ICV score, the LCP team oversaw every element with patience, precision and expertise.

Due to this focused approach, the firm’s LCP team expanded to over 20 professionals in the region.

Over time, the LCP portfolio continued to adapt and enhance in line with the business landscape. Protiviti also sought to keep its commitment to attract UAE national talent to join the firm. “Determining the stakeholders and setting up the right governance are essential ingredients for sustainable growth”, says Arindam. Accordingly, the firm has onboarded UAE nationals across its various business support and consulting solution teams.

Harish Visweswaraiah Country Managing Director - UAE

Clients’ feedback highlighted that language skills were crucial to make the programs successful in addition to the team’s technical competencies “We realised the importance of relating to our clients on their terms — not ours, and promoted diversity within the team,” explains Harish, and “that is the secret to create a happy culture,” adds Arindam.

Protiviti’s steadfast commitment to its clients has made the firm the Certifying

At the inception of the ICV program, Protiviti considered the certification initiative as a strategic project. The ICV project team comprised of professionals from diverse solutions, based across geographies. As the project forged ahead, the rapid growth of ICV requests was not without challenges.

Body of choice. “We are more than a service provider; we are a trusted partner to our clients. What differentiates us is our strive for excellence and aspiration to maintain high delivery standard; this means doing more than the minimum required. Our years of ICV experience, an extensive network of suppliers and strong relationships with our partners are constantly challenging the LCP team to go above and beyond in pursuit of our goal of delivering exceptional quality,” stresses Harish.

The Covid-19 pandemic changed the working environment and tested LCP team’s resilience. The team’s track record of success proved to be invaluable during this challenging time. In today’s rapidly evolving economic environment, suppliers expect that turnaround time for work is minimised. “Innovation is a fundamental part of our services. Digitisation is the way to innovate and bring untapped efficiencies to our operations,” says Arindam.

Protiviti is continually upgrading and innovating to help the suppliers face the future with confidence.

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PARTNER OF CHOICE Eugene Mayne Founder and Group CEO, Tristar, discusses in detail why the ICV program could be a game changer in the UAE for the private sector.

Edited excerpts: Give us an overview of your business.

Tristar was established in the UAE in 1998 with the aim of providing third party logistics service for the domestic and international oil companies with a focus on driving a safety culture in road transport. At that time, there was a need for professional and safe transporters to support the petroleum industry. The transport industry was very fragmented — the drivers used to work long hours without proper rest and faced a lot of other issues. It was very challenging to find professional transporters. So, Tristar focused on building a business that incorporated best road safety practices and principles of business and we were well received by the oil companies.

Over the years, we have expanded into the warehousing, ship-owning, turnkey fuel supply operations and fuel storage sectors, too, and spread wings to 21 countries across the world. We have a successful business model and the same core customers over the last 20 years, who continue to be our loyal partners.

Tristar essentially continues to be a partner of choice.

How relevant is the ICV program for an established player like you?

I think it’s very relevant for us. Even though today we operate in 21 countries, we are a UAE born-and-bred company and for us supporting the local economy and being able to add value is quite important, whether it’s in terms of recruitment, investment, projecting what we do here to our partners in other countries.

All these aspects are important to us.

Besides, we also do a lot of community development work. We supported the Rashid Center for People of Determination and provided corporate funding for the Al Jalila Foundation in its medical research efforts, including on Covid-19.

We also promote road safety with the RTA and Dubai Chamber. If you see, the standards of road safety here in the UAE have come a long way since the seventies

any heavy-duty drivers locally and we are dependent on the expatriate drivers.

How do you think the ICV program is going to benefit the economy?

I think it’s a great initiative because it drives down the message that what can be done locally should be done locally. The economy has matured to a large extent.

You don’t need to go outside of the UAE for anything.

It is important to build a symbiotic relation where small and larger companies help each other while having certain standards of operations. As the ICV program gathers momentum, we are seeing private sector companies starting to create this awareness and will nudge companies in a direction that drives excellence. After the companies have ICV Certification, we will then have minimum criteria for them in terms of having a minimum score.

Eugene Mayne Founder and Group CEO — Tristar and eighties. And we’re very glad to note that we are proud to have played a very instrumental part in this.

We have also added to the economy by investing in real estate. I think we have made more than a $100 million investment in the UAE, in terms of building some real estate assets, corporate offices, staging yards for our trucks at Jebel Ali. We also have three facilities for fuel storage and warehousing. The ICV program has been a contributor but even before it was launched we were doing these things. It was always important for us to be the pillar of society,

keep growing our presence here and be a responsible business. A good business is more about setting high standards than just making money, and ICV will help a lot of companies achieve higher standards of work.

On the ICV front, how did you localise critical parts of the supply chain?

Localising the supply chain is an important part of the process since we are a logistics player. So, procuring fuel from the local national oil companies is a typical example of not going to bring it from outside. In the case of all our spare parts

Tristar Fleet

and other components, we encourage and develop local suppliers. In fact, every year we host an annual conference for our supply chain partners where they come and we share things also like why it’s important for them to also maintain certain standards to deal with a company like Tristar. We are again rolling this culture further down with the ICV. So, the chain is being built, and this is how we add value.

In terms of localisation of talent, we face some challenges because our industry is largely driven by the expatriate population. The drivers, for example, are all from the sub-continent. We do not get

Chemical warehouse in Jafza

Why do you think a small company should aspire for ICV certification?

As the ICV becomes a norm for industry and the private sector, then it’s a question of survival. If somebody wants to survive in business, they will have to embrace it.

Like in any other part of the world, you have to embrace and engage with the local communities and try to involve them in part of your business, and also give them an opportunity for diversification within their business and offer growth.

Anything else you would like to add?

The private sector has a very important role to play in building the economies of any country. We need to ask what we can do better? How can we contribute? How can we engage?

Private sector is a very powerful resource for any country. Making money is good, but being a responsible business is also equally important, especially today.

This seems like so many challenges such as climate change, poverty, inequality, issues of tax evasion, etc. As responsible businesses everybody needs to play a part.

Initiatives like the ICV are very good benchmarks of measurements for companies to do a self-assessment and see how they can improve. This way, automatically the businesses go up, the standards rise and the profile of your business goes up.

If today you have a high ICV score, one doesn’t need to look further. They know you are a successful and trustworthy business. So, that itself gives you the financial ratings and an acknowledgement of good business. This overall benefits the private sector.

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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Ashish Chaturvedy – Head of Marketing at Ducab on realising value through expansion of the UAE’s industrial sector

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he UAE has emerged as a manufacturing powerhouse, defining the country’s post-oil economic landscape. This progress results from the country’s advanced physical and digital infrastructure as well as a young, growing talent pool equipped with STEM skills.

With this in mind, it is encouraging to see the UAE supporting more in-country value (ICV) programs in the manufacturing space. These programs promote collaboration amongst local industry players and facilitate local goods and services procurement.

Such programs also take into consideration local job creation and the hiring and training of local talent as the foundation for more sustainable development.

Scaling local capabilities is a cornerstone of the Operation 300bn national industrial strategy. This plan aims to swell the manufacturing sector’s share of the national GDP to Dh 300 billion by 2031. The government also launched in 2021 the ‘Make it in the Emirates’ campaign to encourage local and international investors, innovators, and developers to explore the facilities and incentives offered within the country’s industrial sector.

Beyond its economic impact, boosting the local manufacturing sector positively impacts the environment. Eliminating the processes associated with the transport and storage of imported products, for example, supports the UAE’s commitment to cutting carbon emissions.

The UAE wire and cable market is a testament to this value chain

Ashish Chaturvedy Head of Marketing — Ducab

Ducab has supplied 90 per cent of the wire and cable requirements for Expo 2020 Dubai, for instance.

This not only presented the Expo 2020 team with tailored, quick-delivery, turnkey solutions, but benefitted auxiliary material suppliers and contractors in the UAE. in action. Ducab has supplied 90 per cent of the wire and cable requirements for Expo 2020 Dubai, for instance. This not only presented the Expo 2020 team with tailored, quick-delivery, turnkey solutions, but benefitted auxiliary material suppliers and contractors in the UAE. Today, we work with leading partners across the entire UAE industrial value chain—such as EGA, KIZAD, and Borouge—to maximise the potential of local resources, while ensuring those benefits are shared with the UAE society.

As the UAE moves into the next 50 years, fostering a robust, increasingly self-reliant UAE manufacturing sector will not only create value locally, but enable the world to benefit from the UAE industrial innovation.

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COMMITTED TO GROWTH Anwar Ul Haq UAE General Manager and Industrial Services Division President Descon on the four decades of excellence and commitment that the company has experienced in the region

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escon has four core businesses, specifically engineering, chemicals, power, and inspection. From a humble beginning in 1977 from Pakistan, Descon Engineering Limited has evolved over the years and is now termed as a trusted partner, renowned for its quality, safety and on-time delivery of projects and products to its clients operating in Pakistan, Middle East and Africa. Our forte is engineering, procurement, construction, commis-

sioning, manufacturing and industrial services, pertaining to energy, process industry and infrastructure. Descon has blossomed into an organisation with some 25,000 people and has undertaken more than 650 sizeable projects, of which more than 200 were located outside Pakistan.

At Descon, our motto is ‘Partners in Progress’, which resonates with the theme behind the ICV program i.e. a partnership to boost the UAE’s GDP and contribute to the country’s socioeconomic development. The strategic localisation of supply chain, availability of local talent, significant time saving due to locally available products have made the ICV program very relevant to our industry.

We, at Descon, are proud to be part of this unique yet successful program since its initiation in November 2017. At Descon, we believe that the National ICV program is a true pinnacle of public-private partnership with its strategic aim of boosting local economy, reducing reliance on imports and developing local talent. Descon achieved its ICV certification right from the start

of the program. Since then, this program has benefited Descon in numerous ways. Whether it is diversification of workforce or taking local talent on-board and building synergy or enhancing our in-country assets, Descon has taken the opportunity of becoming ICV Partners to further deepen our roots in the UAE and becoming proud partner of its growth. We, at Descon believe that our journey to obtain ICV certification remained smooth.

However, like any other partnership, there are always areas of improvement and learnings.

For us, this area is the thirdparty spending, including educating our suppliers in developing their ICV profile and scores, which will ultimately reflect in Descon’s and other suppliers’ overall ICV. We are continuously working on this and have seen good improvement from our subcontractors, suppliers and partners.

The ICV program created the opportunity to increase the utilisation of the national talents of UAE and developing them to become the future leaders of the business. Descon has developed a plan for the engagement

of UAE nationals and raising their skill set in the core fields of engineering, project management, quality and HSE. Additionally, Descon Engineering is giving a special focus to gender diversification. We have hired a few Emiratis females who have been working on our different projects in the UAE, and we continue to hire Emirati female talent to provide them with the opportunity to learn and grow their careers to become future pillars of the UAE success story.

Descon Engineering has been committed to ICV program since its initiation back in 2017 and it continues to improve its ICV score, as part of the Descon UAE strategy, which will enable it to reach and exceed its ICV targets and commitments to ADNOC group and the UAE economy as a whole.

Descon will maintain its support and contribution to the development of the UAE economy and will remain available to support the unprecedented transformation of the UAE nation in reaching its goals which have been dazzling the world under the wise leadership of the UAE government.

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A BENCHMARK FOR QUALITY AND CONSUMER SAFETY SGS continually contributes towards building a sustainable and safe community

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GS is the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company.

Recognised as the global benchmark for quality and integrity, SGS has over 96,000 employees operating a network of 2,600 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world.

SGS has been continually invested in the region supporting the trade and economy, local governments and most importantly, the safety of the end consumers through persistent support interventions

ENSURING CONSUMER SAFETY AND PRODUCT COMPLIANCE With state-of-the-art testing laboratories accredited to ISO/ IEC 17025 equipped with latest high-tech equipment and qualified laboratory professionals, SGS supports the community in ensuring the consumer safety as per regional and international standards. The Center of Excellence

SGS Gulf in Gulfood Trade event organised in February 2022 reinforcing the commitment to supporting trade and ensuring food safety in the region. (Left to Right) Hakan Sebukcebe, Managing Director, SGS Middle East and Anand Nair, Director Arabian Peninsula, SGS Gulf Ltd.

— SGS MultiLab facility spanning over 14000 sq ft with extensive testing capabilities including food and beverage, cosmetics personal and home care, halal testing, paints, textiles, tobacco, electrical and electronics equipment SGS continues to invest in building a knowledge-based society where the consumer is able to make informed decisions keeping consumer safety at center stage. Supporting various product compliance and certification programs, SGS works with the local

governments to ensure that the products imported and sold in the region are safe and compliant as per regional and international standards to ensure necessary product safety and compliance.

SGS remains committed towards building a better, safer community interconnected with the global trade map.

TRADE FACILITATION AND SPEED TO MARKET With various trade certification and compliance programs, SGS

helps smooth custom and border clearances enabling faster reach of the products into the region by seamless implementation of the conformity assessment and certification programs integrated with the clearance process.

Verified Exporter Program is another such initiative where SGS has partnered with the Dubai Economy and Tourism, Government of Dubai to validate exporters out of the region. This massively helps builds trust and validates credible trade entities operating out of Dubai and selling to the world markets.

QUALITY ASSURANCE SGS has various inspection and testing services available and deep industry expertise to support the manufacturing and trade industry to validate and assure necessary quality control and systems as per the required standards and limits.

PROTECTING TRADE With inspection, sampling and surveys of the trade consignments, the trade is continually protected against supply of non-conforming or fraudulent product consignment as per agreed and regional standard requirements.

STREAMLINING BUSINESS EFFICIENCY For over 50 years Al Masaood Oil & Gas has been a leader in its field of expertise covering both upstream and downstream segments

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he ICV program is an efficient local content initiative which has been evolving with flexibility and adaptation by taking into consideration the markets requirements including the suppliers role and contribution to the local economy. It is a program that was designed in such a way that the local content efforts made by companies benefits to a network of players aiming towards a common objective. It is a program that is balanced in its components by considering diverse aspects of a company’s contribution to local content such as local procurement, long term investment, in-country and incentive for Emiratization efforts made on local talent sourcing, fostering and retention.

Al Masaood Oil and Gas has initiated a Dh 250 million integrated industrial complex aiming to house future business and operational functions that include: headquarters, integrated services workshops and warehouses, knowledge centre, manufacturing facilities, showrooms, catering area, accommodations, as well as a jetty berthing facility to serve the offshore logistics requirements of its customers. The property will cover an estimated land area of 300,000 sqm. located in ICAD 2 (Abu Dhabi), creating a huge complex of combined busi-

ness and recreation facilities.

This project, named the ‘megabase’, aims to push forward the company’s contribution to the next level, with an emphasis on manufacturing opportunities in-country to serve the energy industry.

Founded in 1971 in Abu Dhabi, Al Masaood Oil and Gas is one of the first established oil and gas suppliers and contractors in the UAE. With 50 years of expertise in upstream and downstream operations and a workforce of over 1,000 headcounts, Al Masaood Oil and Gas provides advanced energy services throughout the UAE, the Middle East, North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and South Asia. Besides its core line of petroleum services, the company is commonly known as one of the key local sponsors, agents and strategic partners of multinational contractors and manufacturers operating within the energy industry in the UAE.

Founded in 1971 in Abu Dhabi, Al Masaood Oil and Gas is one of the first established oil and gas suppliers and contractors in the UAE.

ENHANCING TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY The Smart Industry Readiness Index is a welcome addition that complements the National ICV program

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Al Masaood Oil & Gas is committed to supporting the In-Country Value Program (ICV) that aims to enhance the performance and sustainability of the UAE’s industrial sector.

rogressive and modernistic initiatives such as the National ICV program have enabled the UAE to develop as reputation for being an optimum environment for the development and adoption of advanced technologies.

These programs also support the objectives to raise industrial productivity by 30 per cent and add about Dh25 billion to the national economy over the next decade.

One such shining case in point is the new Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI), which will identify industrial players’ technology expertise and support the adoption of advanced technologies and Fourth Industrial Revolution applications. Furthermore, it is envisioned that it will ensure high-quality products and services as well as sustainable and secure supply chains. The adoption of the index was undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) as part of the ‘Projects of the 50’.

SIRI, which is a concrete indi-

cator of technological capability, will not only go hand in hand with the UAE’s National In-Country program, it will also serve to further the goals of the initiative, ensuring the successful registration of local suppliers, underscoring the government’s decision to prioritise procurement procedures and diversify the UAE’s economy.

Under the ambit of ‘Projects of the 50’, the Smart Industry Readiness Index has been adopted as a key cornerstone of ‘UAE Industry 4.0’, the Fourth Industrial Revolution program, to accelerate the integration of advanced technologies in the industrial sector. It is hoped that by the end of the first half of 2022, the ministry will have evaluated 200 industrial companies.

Speaking about the initiative, Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology, said: “We are proud today to announce the adoption

We understand the challenges that are associated with adopting technology, and we are working closely with the key industrial players to ensure that the ecosystem enables technological advancements.

of the Smart Industry Readiness Index, which was adopted by the World Economic Forum as a global standard for unifying 4IR concepts. We are also pleased to announce the completion of the first phase of the program that consisted of 104 companies.”

She further added that the information and data collected will contribute to understanding the path towards Industry 4.0, along with identifying the necessary programs that will circumvent challenges, alleviate risk and provide the right incentives for technology adoption. “We understand the challenges that are associated with adopting technology, and we are working closely with the key industrial players to ensure that the ecosystem enables technological advancements,” she said.

For both public and private companies, the Smart Industry Readiness Index comes at a crucial time as it will help them understand their current digital maturity. This will also provide them with high-level recommendations so they can take the next step on their digitalisation journey as well as contribute to increasing their awareness of 4IR applications. In the long run, it is hoped that the index will drive the UAE’s manufacturing sector to consider the efficiency and productivity benefits of adopting industry 4.0 solutions.