Dubai Industrial City, Emirates Development Bank sign strategic agreement to boost advanced manufacturing, industrial growth

Dubai-UAE: 22 August 2021 – Dubai Industrial City, a member of Dubai Holding Asset Management, has signed a strategic agreement with Emirates Development Bank [EDB], a key 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.”

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 galvanize 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.”

Earlier in the year, EDB announced it had allocated an investment portfolio of AED30 billion until 2025, to support the development of the 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 the UAE as well as enhancing the contribution of SMEs to the country’s GDP.

As part of Operation 300bn strategy, the future roadmap of EDB is focused on boosting the industrial sector in the UAE and supporting 13,500 SMEs by 2031. Within this ambit, EDB offers direct and indirect lending for SMEs (Supply Chain, Project & Long-term Finance), an investment arm for startups and SMEs (accelerator, equity finance, business growth fund) as well as business advisory services for entrepreneurs, startups and small companies (coaching, consulting, mentoring, market research).

Established in 2004, Dubai Industrial City is one of the region’s largest industrial manufacturing and logistics hubs and an essential part of the Dubai’s Industrial Strategy 2030. It is home to more than 750 business partners, including 200 factories. It has been a catalyst for the growth and expansion of the UAE’s industrial sector with a world-class masterplan divided into sector-focused zones, including minerals, base metals, F&B, trade and distribution, transportation, chemicals, and machinery and equipment.

Providing a convenient and cost-effective work environment for manufacturing and industrial activity, it offers an enabling ecosystem offering industrial and commercial land, retail showrooms, warehouses, office buildings, open yard storage, and residential accommodation. It is also strategically located nearby Jebel Ali Port and Al Maktoum International Airport, providing an opportunity to reach two-thirds of the world’s population in eight hours.