Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)’s employees shared 2,744 innovative ideas in the first half of 2024 through the Afkari (Arabic for My Ideas) internal digital platform, designed to encourage employees to be innovative and creative. So far, 70% of the approved ideas have been implemented. The approved ideas have contributed to 34% more financial savings compared to the first half of 2023.

Since 2015, DEWA has received over 63,000 ideas through the platform. Employees’ ideas play a significant role in supporting the innovation and development of DEWA’s services and achieving the highest global competitiveness indicators. These include the lowest electricity Customer Minutes Lost (CML) in the world at just 1.06 minutes per customer annually, 100% availability of electricity and water network services, and 99.99% availability of DEWA’s key digital services.

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, commended the innovative ideas shared by the employees through Afkari platform, emphasising that they reflect their spirit of innovation and commitment to supporting DEWA’s vision to be a globally leading sustainable innovative corporation committed to achieving Net-Zero by 2050.

“We are dedicated to fostering a culture of innovation among DEWA’s employees, making it an integral part of daily practices by providing a motivating and supportive work environment that nurtures creativity. We also train employees to think scientifically and innovatively through various workshops and specialised training programmes throughout the year. This has facilitated the innovation and enhancement of DEWA’s services, leading to top positions in global competitiveness indexes. We also review and implement employees’ suggestions and innovative ideas that contribute to developing services for our customers, partners, and employees. The active engagement of DEWA’s employees with the Afkari platform demonstrates their understanding of their role in advancing government work by sharing their ideas and suggestions to achieve greater success and accomplishments,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

DEWA was the first utility in the world to obtain the ISO 56002:2019 certification in Innovation Management in 2019, consolidating its position among the most prominent and innovative organisations worldwide. Afkari is the first creative platform of its kind in Dubai Government that implements the idea management system, enabling employees to vote and comment on other employees’ ideas, similar to social media platforms. The Afkari platform allows DEWA to benefit from employee suggestions, providing a central repository to manage innovation and ensure continuous improvement.