Zoho and UAE Food Cluster join forces to accelerate digitisation of food sector SMEs in UAE

Zoho, a global technology company, and the UAE Food Cluster have announced a strategic partnership to support the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the food manufacturing and trading ecosystem in the country.

The collaboration is a major step toward advancing the industry competitiveness through integration of digital tools for finance, operations, compliance, and performance management.

Leveraging Zoho’s enterprise-grade cloud technologies, the initiative brings scalable, secure, and AI-powered tools that were previously accessible mainly to large corporations within the reach of SMEs, helping them modernize their business functions with ease and affordability.

With the UAE’s growing emphasis on corporate tax compliance, operational efficiency, and data-driven competitiveness, the partnership between UAE Food Platform and Zoho aims to enable more than 300 eligible food SMEs to access digital solutions that simplify business operations, improve process efficiency, and enhance traceability and compliance.

The program targets  to digitisation over 300 companies in the next two years as part of a phased national rollout, with 100 companies to be onboarded in the first year. These SMEs will gain access to core digital modules designed to optimize operations in areas such as finance and accounting, inventory and supply chain, human resource management, and data analytics.

Each module is powered by Zoho’s enterprise technology stack, offering end-to-end integration, real-time insights, and AI-driven automation that enhance accuracy, reduce manual errors, and support smarter decision-making.

This partnership represents a shared commitment to strengthening the UAE’s food ecosystem through technology, collaboration, and capacity building. Participating SMEs will benefit from streamlined and compliant accounting and reporting systems, aligned with UAE corporate tax and VAT requirements. Improved operational efficiency through digital integration of production, inventory, and workforce management, with training and support from Zoho to ensure successful implementation and long-term adoption.

The SMEs in the program will benefit from a shared implementation framework, enabling knowledge transfer and reducing digitalization costs.

Signing an MoU at the Global Food Week (GFW), Saleh Lootah, Chairman of UAE Food Cluster, “SMEs are the backbone of the UAE’s food ecosystem. This partnership with Zoho will help us create a unified, digitally empowered sector capable of competing on efficiency and compliance, both locally and globally. By embedding digital capabilities within SME operations, this initiative aims to significantly improve productivity, traceability, and competitiveness, contributing to the UAE’s broader objectives of food security, sustainability, and economic diversification.”

“Zoho is proud to support the UAE’s vision for a resilient and innovation-driven food economy. By harnessing our enterprise technology and AI-powered platform stack, SMEs can achieve faster digital maturity and improved performance across all aspects of their operations,” said Prem Anand Velumani, Associate Director, Strategic Alliances, Zoho Middle East and Africa (MEA).