ABU DHABI, 19th June, 2022 (WAM) — Emirates Development Bank (EDB) will be participating in the first “Make it in the Emirates Forum” held on 21-22 June at ADNOC Business Centre, Abu Dhabi, organised by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED).
As a key partner in the Ministry’s efforts to empower the industrial sector and elevate its contribution to the UAE’s non-oil GDP, EDB will be using the Forum to underline how its range of flexible financing solutions can help large corporates and SMEs to expand, diversify and improve operational efficiency.
The bank’s products, which are offered with long tenors, high loan-to-value ratios and grace periods, include financing for cap-ex investments, 4IR adoption, digitisation and clean energy transition, and are focused on companies in the manufacturing, advanced technology, infrastructure, healthcare and food security sectors. EDB also offers financing for green- and brownfield development, which is tailored to investors seeking to enter the UAE market.
More than 1,350 SMEs across priority sectors have now been supported by EDB’s financing solutions, resulting in a AED 1.91 billion contribution to the UAE’s GDP growth between April 2021 and April 2022. The ‘Make it in the Emirates Forum’ represents an important opportunity for EDB to engage with new and existing partners in the public and private sector and identify more eligible projects that will enhance the UAE’s industrial ecosystem.
Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, Chief Executive Officer of EDB, said, “The Make it in the Emirates Forum represents the ideal platform to demonstrate the plethora of opportunities on offer in the UAE industrial sector, the nation’s welcoming and supportive regulatory environment and, above all, the direct, accessible assistance on offer to those investors and industrialists who share the country’s growth ambitions. I am looking forward to discussing how EDB’s suite of services can help companies unlock an exciting new chapter here in the UAE.”
“The UAE’s FDI inflows increased 3.9 percent in 2021, reaching US$20.7 billion in 2021, and helping it to 15th place globally in Kearney’s FDI Confidence Index,” he said. “In addition to traditional sectors such as real estate and financial services, we saw considerable inflows into renewable energy, the digital economy and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, blockchain and robotics. This underlines not only the potential of these industries of the future, but the dynamic and nurturing environment that the UAE has created to support them,” Al Naqbi added.
EDB will be presenting its full range of financing products from MoIAT’s stand at the event, and is inviting attendees to learn about the financial and non-financial support the bank offers, including its new corporate banking services and the digital banking app that provides SMEs a business bank account and an IBAN number within 48 hours.
The Make it in the Emirates Forum 2022 is being held under the theme of “Invest, Partner, Grow”. During the event, major national companies will present billions of dirhams of investment opportunities in various fields, including defence, petrochemicals, metals, electrical appliances and equipment, rubber and plastics, pharmaceuticals, and medical supplies among others. It will also feature key stakeholders speaking on the UAE’s industrial growth strategies, while 24 companies will participate in a dedicated exhibition area to showcase their investment opportunities.