EDB in talks with Poland’s national development bank to boost collaboration

The lenders discuss ways to support large corporations, small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs

Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Development Bank contributed Dh1.91 billion to the UAE’s gross domestic product over the past 12 months. Khushnum Bhandari/ The National

Emirates Development Bank (EDB) is exploring opportunities to collaborate with Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), the national development bank of Poland, to support economic development in their respective countries.

Representatives from EDB and BGK held an online meeting to discuss ways to support large corporations, small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs, and to help stimulate overall economic growth, EDB said in a statement on Sunday.

Ahmed Al Naqbi, chief executive of EDB, led the meeting from EDB’s side, while BGK was represented by its president, Beata Daszynska-Muzyczka, and other officials.

“The meeting with BGK is part of our efforts to exchange our knowledge and experiences with our partners in other countries,” Mr Al Naqbi said.

“We presented our strategic roadmap and its goals with their leadership and explored opportunities to collaborate on joint projects to ensure economic growth and development across both the countries.”

He did not specify the kind of joint projects that the bank was looking to work on with BGK.

EDB was founded in 2011 after a merger between 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. It will fund industries such as health care, infrastructure, food security and technology, and aims to generate 25,000 jobs.

EDB recently signed agreements with a number of lenders, including RAKBank, Commercial Bank of Dubai and others to offer credit guarantees and participate in co-lending programmes to SMEs in priority sectors in the UAE.

BGK is the only development bank in Poland. It is supporting the socio economic development of the country through financing. It has a number of funds dedicated to the development of the housing sector, inland waterways, tourism and roads, among others.

EDB has contributed Dh1.91bn to the UAE’s GDP over the past 12 months, as it continues to play a pivotal role in supporting the country’s industrial strategy.

The bank has also provided direct and indirect financing to 1,350 SMEs across priority sectors and introduced a credit-guarantee platform, which has mobilised more than Dh332m of capital to SMEs, it said last month.