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Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced Ziina as the recipient of the Dubai-it Award for companies in the field of business, the Government of Dubai Media Office reported on October 31, 2026. The Crown Prince, who also serves as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, highlighted how the fintech firm has simplified digital payments by phone for thousands of businesses while its transaction volume surpassed $1.5 billion in a short period. According to the announcement, Ziina now serves 500,000 users and supports 290,000 business owners as well as small and home-based projects across the UAE.
Ziina was founded by siblings Faisal Toukan, Sarah Toukan and Talal Toukan after they identified an opportunity in Dubai to build an integrated financial platform, which they named after their mother. The company started as a peer-to-peer money transfer application before expanding into a full financial platform that allows users to send, receive, store and spend money. In the space of four years, Ziina has launched more than 13 products and features, according to details shared in the official announcement.
“This is Dubai-it. Building from the ground up. Growing with ambition. Creating impact that reaches beyond the business,” Sheikh Hamdan said in the statement released by the Dubai Media Office while extending congratulations to the Ziina team. The Crown Prince praised the young Arab entrepreneurs for starting the business in Dubai and scaling it with ambition that generates wider effects. His remarks were distributed via an official post on X.
The Dubai-it Award was launched under directives from Sheikh Hamdan to embed a culture of achievement, speed, excellence and tangible impact within institutions and companies, the Emirates News Agency has reported in coverage of prior winners. Previous honorees include the Roads and Transport Authority in the government category for completing major infrastructure projects at twice global benchmark speeds and SWS Board Technology in the economy projects category for its manufacturing scale. A separate announcement for Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum recognised his leadership in aviation growth that expanded Emirates’ fleet nearly 139-fold.
Ziina’s development reflects the award’s emphasis on harnessing opportunities in Dubai to create platforms that ease business operations and contribute to the digital economy. The fintech’s support for small and medium enterprises as well as home-based projects has helped broaden access to financial tools in the market. Details from the media office underscore how the company evolved rapidly from its initial focus on individual transfers to a comprehensive service provider.
Official figures shared in the announcement place Ziina’s cumulative payment processing above the $1.5 billion mark while its user base and business network continue to expand. The recognition forms part of a series of Dubai-it honours that spotlight entities aligning with the emirate’s philosophy of delivering exceptional outcomes in record time. Further context on the award’s objectives appears in statements covering multiple categories throughout 2026.
