Emirates Development Bank (EDB) signed a new agreement with the National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain to provide increased financial support to small and medium enterprises in priority sectors in the UAE.
As part of the deal, NBQ will offer up to Dh10 million ($2.72m) of financing to SMEs with 50 per cent of this either guaranteed or co-lent by EDB.
“The UAE government has placed considerable emphasis on developing the SME ecosystem and boosting their contribution to [the] UAE’s non-oil GDP,” Ahmed Al Naqbi, chief executive of EDB, said.
“Our MoU with National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain will help us facilitate financing through credit guarantee and co-lending options to allow greater operational flexibility to SMEs.”
EDB was founded in 2011 after a merger between the Emirates Industrial Bank and the Real Estate bank. It aims to provide Dh30 billion 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 healthcare, infrastructure, food security and technology and help generate 25,000 jobs.
"The NBQ understands the vital role SMEs play in building the nation’s economy. That is why we have developed financial solutions to allow SMEs in the UAE to trade safely and confidently and gain access to international markets, thereby positioning the UAE as the global hub of trade and export,” Adnan Al Awadhi, chief executive at NBQ, said.
The programme also aims to offer financing facilities of up to Dh1m to Emirati entrepreneurs, whereby 60 per cent will be guaranteed or co-lent by EDB, the lender said.
EDB also signed two separate agreements this month with RAKBank and the Commercial Bank of Dubai to offer credit guarantees and participate in co-lending programmes to small and medium-sized enterprises in the UAE.
