Dubai Industrial City (DIC), a member of Dubai Holding Asset Management, has signed a strategic agreement with Emirates Development Bank (EDB), a financial enabler of the country’s economic diversification and industrial transformation agenda, to provide innovative financing and banking solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises and support the growth of vital national industries such as advanced manufacturing and logistics.
Signed by Saud Abu Al-Shawareb, Managing Director of Dubai Industrial City and Shaker Zainal, Head of Business Finance at EDB, the strategic agreement aims to support Dubai Industrial City’s efforts to develop the industrial sector in Dubai and the UAE, provide new opportunities to attract local and international manufacturing companies, and offer financial solutions to develop state-of-the-art infrastructure.
The agreement also aligns with EDB’s continuous efforts to enable the industrial transformation and economic diversification agenda in the UAE, build a knowledge-based economy, increase global competitiveness and sustainable growth, and support startups and SMEs, which are key drivers of the national economy.
Shaker Zainal, Head of Business Finance at EDB, said: “Through this agreement with Dubai Industrial City, we will offer the right support to finance SMEs. We are always keen on cooperating with related entities especially in terms of financing small and medium-sized enterprises, and we believe that this collaboration with one of the region’s largest industrial hubs will help us reach potential customers and study the possibility of funding them.
“We will also work together on developing entrepreneurship and awareness programmes and sharing industrial knowledge.”
Earlier in the year, EDB announced it had allocated an investment portfolio of AED30 billion until 2025, to support the development of industrial sector. This is part of EDB’s commitment to support the goals of the National Agenda under Operation 300 bn – a 10-year strategy to empower the country’s industrial sector to propel a sustainable national economy by boosting the SME ecosystem in UAE as well as enhancing the contribution of SMEs to the country’s GDP.
Saud Abu Al-Shawareb, Managing Director of Dubai Industrial City, said: “Today’s strategic partnership reaffirms our efforts to transform Dubai Industrial City into a world-class business destination for manufacturing and logistics.
“It will galvanisze our business community, unlock new investment opportunities, create skilled jobs, and consolidate Dubai’s position as a business-friendly hub for trade and commerce. With additional capital expenditure, we hope the SME sector will be empowered to play an even greater role in advancing the UAE’s national industrial transformation and building a knowledge and innovation-based economy. We look forward to working in partnership with EDB on this imperative initiative.”