Dubai RTA wins World’s Best Innovation Hub title at GIMI Awards 2025
Global recognition announced at innovation summit in Rio de Janeiro
DUBAI – Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has secured first place worldwide in the Best Innovation Hub category at the Global Innovation Management Institute Innovation Awards 2025, marking a new global achievement for the transport body’s innovation ecosystem.
The award recognises organisations that generate measurable impact across innovation networks and deliver practical, scalable solutions. The announcement was made during the GIMI Innovation Awards ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, attended by international experts, government officials and private sector leaders.
The recognition highlights RTA’s structured approach to innovation and its growing collaboration with start-ups and technology partners focused on future mobility. Officials said the award reflects the authority’s ability to connect research, experimentation and deployment within a unified operational framework.
Innovation engine
Shaikha Ahmed Almeheiri, Director of Innovation and Pioneering at RTA’s Strategy and Corporate Governance Sector, said the Innovation Accelerator programme is designed to maximise the value of start-up driven mobility solutions in line with RTA strategy and UAE national priorities. The programme identifies promising start-ups, evaluates their technical and operational capabilities, and supports the development and implementation of solutions within RTA and through strategic partnerships.
She said the model strengthens cooperation between public and private sectors and contributes to raising RTA’s innovation maturity index. According to Almeheiri, the accelerator functions as an integrated operational model that speeds up the adoption of advanced technologies and converts ideas into deployable services.
ScaleUp Mobility
Almeheiri said the ScaleUp Mobility programme, launched by the Innovation and Pioneering Department, has created a corporate framework that links innovation directly to operational outcomes. The programme is structured to ensure that pilot projects and emerging technologies are tested and scaled within real transport environments rather than remaining at concept level.
She noted that the award reflects the strength and integration of RTA’s wider innovation ecosystem and confirms the effectiveness of its start-up engagement model. The programme focuses on aligning innovation outputs with long term mobility planning and sector needs.
Applied research
RTA’s Transportation Research and Innovation Pavilion, known as TRIP, serves as the applied and experimental arm of the programme. It provides infrastructure and technical support to convert research and prototype projects into practical, field ready solutions. Officials said this setup helps keep innovation initiatives aligned with future mobility trends and institutional strategies.
According to RTA, the global award strengthens Dubai’s profile as a government innovation platform, increases investor and start-up confidence in the emirate’s ecosystem, and enhances international visibility in advanced urban mobility development.