Emirates Development Bank signs financing pact with Dubai’s food technology hub

Food Tech Valley aims to triple the UAE's food production and make the country more self-sufficient

Ahmed Al Naqbi, chief executive of Emirates Development Bank, left, and Hesham Al Qassim, chief executive of Wasl Asset Management Group. EDB and Food Tech Valley will support tech-based companies operating, or seeking to operate, in the Dubai hub. Photo: EDBShow less

The UAE's Emirates Development Bank (EDB) has signed an initial agreement with Food Tech Valley, to provide financing for small and medium enterprises and start-ups operating within the Dubai food technology hub.

Under the agreement, the two parties will support tech-based companies operating, or seeking to operate, in the hub with financing, roadshows, seminars, mentorships and knowledge transfer, EDB said on Monday.

"The partnership will further boost the government’s vision of diversifying the economy by encouraging tenants to set up their businesses at Food Tech Valley," said Hesham Al Qassim, chief executive of Wasl Asset Management Group, which is developing the project in partnership with the Ministry of Food and Water Security.

"We are confident that all the partners on board will help attract local and foreign direct investments within the field to achieve the government’s mission of transforming the UAE into a global hub for tech-based food and agricultural solutions.”

Food Tech Valley was launched in May last year to further develop vertical farming and other advanced agriculture technologies and bolster the UAE's food security. The centre aims to triple the UAE's food production and make the country more self-sufficient.

The size of the global AgriTech market is projected to grow to $22 billion over the next four years, from $13.5bn at present, Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of State for Food Security, said last year.

The food hub will have four main clusters: AgriTech and engineering, a food innovation centre, research and development centres and an advanced smart food logistics hub.

Food Tech Valley's focus is to attract and support new agricultural technologies, bridging global and local knowledge in the field, while establishing a collaborative network to export knowledge for a sustainable food system.

The partnership between EDB and Food Tech Valley is in line with the lender's efforts to support economic diversification and is aligned with the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy 2051 to implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity, said Ahmed Al Naqbi, chief executive of EDB.

"Through this agreement, we aim to give value-added financing support to start-ups, SMEs and international companies, and we look forward to building new partnerships with emerging companies in such a vital sector," he said.

The agreement also supports EDB’s strategy to "drive the UAE’s industrial development, accelerate the adoption of advanced technologies across the industrial base and empower the growth of SMEs" in priority areas, including food security, he added.

To achieve these goals, EDB will facilitate direct and indirect lending, totalling Dh30bn, to more than 13,500 companies by 2026, as part of the strategy launched in March 2021.