UAE’s Ministry of Finance launches next phase of Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund

The new phase will focus on the fund and its programmes operating under one national umbrella

Younis Haji Al Khouri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, speaks during the graduation ceremony of the MBRIF’s first batch of 18 members in the accelerator programme in February. Leslie Pableo for The NationalShow less

The UAE’s Ministry of Finance is launching the next phase of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF), a federal initiative that provides loan guarantees for small businesses.

Set up in 2016, the Dh2 billion MBRIF has two programmes –a loan guarantee scheme and an accelerator. Both will be run by the Emirates Development Bank in the new phase.

This will allow the fund and its programmes to be managed and operated under one umbrella, while creating an “integrated work environment” to support innovation, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The ministry is keen to contribute to the UAE’s future by “bolstering its innovation system and working closely with the public and private sectors to enable them to innovate in the country”, Younis Haji Al Khoori, undersecretary of the ministry, said.

MBRIF is open to companies that have progressed beyond the concept stage and are already operational, both globally and in the UAE – provided they operate and look to grow in the Emirates.

They also must operate within industry sectors prioritised in the UAE’s National Innovation Strategy, including renewable and clean energy, transportation, education, technology, health care, space and water.

“The launch of this new phase is part of our mandate to manage and operate MBRIF under one umbrella … providing end-to-end support to start-ups,” said Faisal Al Bastaki, chief executive of EDB.

“Through the innovation accelerator, we aim to maximise the growth potential of innovative start-ups … the guarantee scheme is in line with the UAE Government’s vision of supporting innovative projects through innovative financing,” he added.

Nearly 880 applications from 65 countries were submitted to the MBRIF’s two programmes since the fund's inception. It has 43 members, out of which 25 are based in the UAE. These companies have raised Dh171.9 million to date.