Network International, the leading repayment solutions provider in the Middle East and Africa region, won the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MRM) Business Innovation Award for its dedication to innovation in business method, procedures and planning in the past year. The Chairman of Network International, Abdulla Qassem, and Group CEO, Simon Haslam, received the award from His Highness Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and initial Deputy Chairman of Dubai Executive Council at a ceremony held at Madinat Jumeirah, in Dubai.

Started in 2005 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the MRM Business Innovation Award exists by Dubai Chamber each year to organisations throughout the GCC, that are concentrated on developing brand-new business excellence criteria and producing good example for like-minded organisations.

Commenting on the win, Abdulla Qassem, Chairman of Network International, said: "It is an honour to win the respected Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Innovation Award, and be identified by the Dubai Chamber for our commitment to innovation in the settlements field. In the previous year, Network International has actually implemented an innovation-first business version that has permitted us to grow exceptionally and come to be a leader in presenting first-to-market repayments solutions in the region."

A core niche within the MRM Excellence Model, the Business Innovation Award permits organisations to single-out innovation and focus on establishing key techniques and capabilities to harness efficiency results via innovation. The award targets at recognizing and commemorating the success of companies who are proven to be leaders in the realm of innovation, and celebrates firms whose outstanding methods and accomplishments in innovation add to the advancement of their economies.

Simon Haslam, Group CEO of Network International said: "The business model of Network International is centred around innovation, and we make sure that innovative practices are used throughout all areas of our business. Having actually straightened our business to the MRM Business Efficiency Version Framework, we will certainly continuously adhere to the core worth of innovation and better that drive using our own successes in the past year as a benchmark."

Network International is jointly owned by Emirates NBD, among the biggest banking teams in the UAE, and global investment firms Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic. The company got Emerging Markets Payments Holdings (EMPH) in 2014 providing it the largest market share for repayment processing within the Middle East and Africa region and income five times larger compared to its closest rival. The company now offers over 200 banks and more than 70,000 sellers across 70 nations.