In a major step towards Dubai Paperless Strategy, all government entities will now provide their consumer services through the DubaiNow app. The app currently provides 88 government services and has already facilitated transactions worth AED 4 billion.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, the Crown Prince of Dubai, took to Twitter to apprise citizens of the government’s initiative.

“I have overseen the progress of the Dubai Paperless Strategy over the past two years, and have now directed all government entities to work with Smart Dubai and ensure all digital government to consumer services are delivered via DubaiNow, gradually eliminating all individual entity applications,” he said.

I have directed all government entities to provide their consumer services through the ‘DubaiNow’ app, which provides 88 government services and has already facilitated transactions worth AED4 billion. Our aim: the Dubai government to become 100% paperless by December 12, 2021.

— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) October 21, 2019

The Dubai Paperless Strategy was launched by the Crown Prince of Dubai in February 2018 to digitise all internal and external government-to-consumer transactions. By 12 December 2021, all government departments will go completely paperless, eliminating more than 1 billion pieces of paper used for transactions every year.

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Briefing on the paperless initiative’s latest developments, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed tweeted, “Clear progress has been made in implementing @HHShkMohd’s vision and directives towards an overhaul in the way government entities work, to reach peak efficiency & world-class customer satisfaction levels.”

“I am proud of the accomplishments of my team who have successfully delivered on their challenge of transforming Dubai Government to become paperless. The inter-government cooperation between Smart Dubai and 15 partnering entities to provide government services digitally is testament to Dubai’s firm belief in what a city can achieve in less than two years with to strong collaborations,” he added.

The strategy, implemented under Smart Dubai initiative, will eliminate the use of over one billion pieces of paper per year, saving 130,000 trees.

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“This is all in addition to saving Dubai’s residents and visitors 40 hours per year, and also saving the city AED 900 million that would have been spent executing paper transactions,” said Dr. Aisha bint Butti bin Bishr, Director General of Smart Dubai.

“Through its seamless user experience, and resilient infrastructure, DubaiNow has proven itself to be a reliable single platform to digitally access all Dubai Government services,” she added.

The 15 entities that have made significant progress on their digital transformation as part of the Dubai Paperless Strategy are: Dubai Land Department (DLD), The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Knowledge and Human Resources Authority (KHDA), Dubai Airports, Dubai Police, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Department of Economic Development (DED), Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Dubai Courts, Dubai Municipality (DM), Dubai Public Prosecution, Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Community Development Authority, the Federal Authority for Identity & Citizenship (FAIC) – Dubai, and Dubai Customs.