Sharjah Chamber, EDB review funding solutions for investors

UAE’s Emirates Development Bank (EDB) and Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) have reviewed the financing solutions, services and benefits available to investors in the industrial sector as well as the procedures involved in securing financing from the bank.

SCCI, represented by the Sharjah Exports Development Center, lauded the EDB for actively engaging with the private sector in the UAE and supporting companies in overcoming challenges through innovative financing solutions and support programmes.

استضاف مصرف الإمارات للتنمية، بالتعاون مع غرفة تجارة وصناعة الشارقة، ندوة تعريفية لتسليط الضوء على حلول التمويل المرنة التي يُقدمها المصرف لدعم وتمكين نمو وتوسع الشركات الصغيرة والمتوسطة في الدولة. pic.twitter.com/W6ZWrQgPjx

— Emirates Development Bank (@EDB_UAE) March 10, 2023

EDB showcased a range of financial and non-financial support solutions available to investors, including its digital banking application.

The state-owned bank’s application allows small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups to open bank accounts instantly and receive an IBAN within 48 hours, providing access to a comprehensive range of secure and available banking services.

EDB’s financing solutions

Meanwhile, EDB said a total of Dhs1.8bn in loans to SMEs in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 387 per cent. This consisted of Dhs1.2bn of direct financing and Dhs611m of indirect financing through EDB’s credit guarantee scheme with partner commercial banks.

Read: Emirates Development Bank’s financing sees 673% YoY rise in 2022; here’s how much it gave as loans

SMEs make up around 95 per cent of all companies operating in the UAE, they create 90 per cent of jobs in the private sector and contribute more than 60 per cent to the country’s GDP, according to data on the UAE government website.

Last November, the UAE government launched the Entrepreneurial Nation 2.0 initiative to develop more than 8,000 SMEs and startups by 2030.

The first edition of the initiative was set up in November 2021 and included 10 programmes and an estimated Dhs20m contributed by entities from the private sector.

EDB approved a total of Dhs6.1bn in loans last year across all company sizes and sectors and its financing activities resulted in a Dhs3.5bn non-oil GDP impact and over 12,000 industrial jobs created.

The bank also supports entrepreneurs and startups with non-financial services through training and advisory programmes on building creditworthiness.

EDB, which was founded in 2011 through the merger of Emirates Industrial Bank and Real Estate Bank, plans to enhance its funding activities across the five strategic sectors in 2023 and the bank said it is well positioned to further drive its developmental mandate.

Driving economic growth

EDB is playing a key role in supporting the country’s economic development agenda and is at the forefront of the government’s efforts to develop its non-oil economic and industrial base.

It is also a financial enabler of the UAE’s economic diversification and industrial transformation agenda, toward building a knowledge-based economy.

Read: UAE’s Investopia signs partnership with Emirates Development Bank

In other news, Investopia, the UAE government’s investment platform, partnered with EDB.

The two entities will leverage their core capabilities to drive economic growth, diversification and industrial transformation in the new economies, in their capacities, as a leading financial institution and as a global thought leadership and investment platform connecting opportunity with capital, respectively.

The lender provides direct and indirect financing to startups, SMEs and large corporates. It also finances industrial projects across five priority sectors including manufacturing, infrastructure, advanced technology food security and healthcare.

The bank earmarked $8.2bn toward the financing of businesses and startups in sectors considered a priority for the UAE economy under the ‘Operation 300bn’ initiative in 2021.

The bank’s ‘EDB Strategy’, which was approved by the UAE government, will see the state-run lender providing financial aid to the country’s priority industrial sectors until 2025.

EDB works in collaboration with state entities including the Ministry of Industry and Technology and free zones such as Dubai Industrial City and Jebel Ali Free Zone As well as KEZAD and ZonesCorp in Abu Dhabi to provide financing to their clients.