Emirates Development Bank has signed a preliminary agreement with the Hamriyah Free Zone and the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone to help small and medium enterprises and start-ups grow by providing them with financial support. The MoU reflects the shared commitment to developing a supportive environment for business and accelerating the UAE’s economic diversification agenda by championing pioneering projects and emerging industries, it stated.
UAE – The Emirates Development Bank (EDB), the key financial engine of the UAE’s economic diversification and industrial transformation agenda, has signed an MoU with the Hamriyah Free Zone and the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF) to provide financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups operating in either of the free zones.
EDB was founded in 2011 through a merger between the Emirates Industrial Bank and Real Estate Bank. It aims to provide Dh30 billion ($8.16bn) in financing over the next five years to support the UAE’s efforts to more than double the size of its industrial sector by 2031.
Industries such as health care, infrastructure, food security, and technology, and help to generate 25,000 jobs will be funded by them. EDB’s recent agreement with the free zones will increase the bank’s pipeline of projects.
under the MoU, EDB will offer its range of flexible financial solutions to SMEs and start-ups in Hamriyah Free Zone and SAIF, including Capex financing for expansion or facility upgrades, greenfield and brownfield project finance, and financial support for the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies or clean energy transition, said Saud Salim Al Mazrouei, Director of Hamriyah Free Zone and SAIF, after signing the deal with Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, Chief Executive Officer of EDB.
This agreement will increase the bank’s pipeline of projects, helping them to identify promising companies that will benefit from financial support such as Capex investment and credit guarantees, or non-financial services such as business advisory services, coaching, consulting, mentoring, and market research.
“EDB’s objective is to maximize its economic impact on the economy of the UAE,” Mr. Al Naqbi said. “Our financial solutions are offered with high loan-to-value ratios with competitive rates, long tenors, and grace periods, especially for companies that rate highly on our Development Impact Scorecard — which we developed to support projects that have a significant impact on the national economy.”
