Emirates Development Bank has unveiled financing deals totalling Dh 362 million to grow and support the UAE’s manufacturing sector, with a special focus on enabling mSMEs. With more than Dh5.4 billion financing to the UAE’s manufacturing sector YTD 2024, EDB has increased its financing markedly year-over-year since the launch of its new strategy in April 2021.
The financing deals align with EDB’s mandate to enable Operation 300 billion and the advancement of local manufacturing capabilities. Under the UAE Industrial Development Strategy, the bank has allocated a portfolio of Dh30 billion to support priority industrial sectors by 2026. The bank will contribute to financing 13,500 businesses within five priority sectors: manufacturing, advanced technology, food security, healthcare, and renewables.
Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, chief executive officer of Emirates Development Bank said: “Our financing announcements during the third edition of the Make it in the Emirates Forum will drive significant progress in advanced technology adoption, economic resilience, and industrial leadership. These deals will boost our support for the manufacturing sector which reached Dh5.4 billion in financing in 2024, representing 48 per cent of our total financing over three years. To us, manufacturing is more than just an industry — it’s the backbone of the UAE’s bold vision for economic diversification and sustainable development.”
On Day 2 of the Make it in the Emirates Forum, EDB unveiled financing deals comprising capex loans and working capital for 13 companies in various manufacturing industries across the bank’s five priority sectors. The companies include KEC EPC LLC; Trofina Food (ME) FZC LLC; Global Surfaces Group; Deep Sea Food Company; Neelkamal Plastics Manufacturing; Dolphin Manufacturing Ltd LLC; Scandinavian Papers Industries CO. L.L.C; SIBCA; Medeco Protective Safety Equipment Manufacturing; Abu Dhabi National Paper Mill; Super Cement; Aspen Polystyrene; and ACE Centro.
EDB’s financing deals are made in pursuit of the Bank’s objectives of cultivating a robust private sector to deliver sustainable economic impact and consolidate the UAE’s position as a global hub for industrial growth and innovation.
Through innovative financing solutions and a patient debt approach with long tenors, the bank is bolstering advanced manufacturing and diversifying critical supply chains, promoting state-of-the-art food security solutions, expanding climate finance and the shift to renewable energy, increasing access to smart and efficient healthcare systems, and promoting the deployment of advanced technologies across industry. In doing so, the Bank is also anchoring jobs and investments in the UAE, increasing access to financing for mSMEs, empowering entrepreneurs, increasing the generation of in-country value (ICV), and driving forward the national vision for a diversified, high-tech and AI driven economy.
Emirates Development Bank [EDB], the UAE’s development bank, is a key financial engine for the economic development and industrial advancement of the UAE. EDB provides financial and non-financial support to businesses of all sizes from start-ups, SMEs to corporates driving economic competitiveness across five strategic priority sectors: advanced technology, food security, healthcare, renewables, and manufacturing. EDB was established under Federal Law by Decree No. 07 of 2011 issued by the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; and became operational in June 2015.