EDB and MoE recognise partners for Bank’s Credit Guarantee Scheme

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Emirates Development Bank, a key financial engine for the economic development and industrial advancement of the UAE, and the Ministry of Economy have recognised and rewarded all the banking and FinTech partners involved in the Bank’s Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS).

Representatives from EDB’s 10 partner banks gathered at a special award ceremony held at the Ministry of Economy’s DIFC offices. During the event, updates were shared about the success of the CGS and recognition awards were presented to the partners for their crucial role in facilitating access to financing for SMEs in the UAE.

EDB is two years into its ambitious five-year strategy aimed at empowering SMEs and large corporates in five priority sectors: manufacturing, technology, healthcare, renewables, and food security.

The Bank has a mandate to deploy Dhs 30 billion in financing support to 13,500 companies within these sectors by 2026.

EDB launched the CGS to support SMEs in the UAE. The scheme aims to help these businesses overcome challenges in accessing financing from conventional banks by providing a partial guarantee to lending banks. This guarantee comes into effect if the SME fails to repay its financing commitments.

The CGS not only provides financial support to SMEs, but also helps them establish a positive credit history with banks. This enables sustainable financing for their businesses in the future, ensuring long-term growth and success.

Abdullah Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy said: “Thanks to the credit guarantees and co-lending schemes offered by the partnership to support SME financing, we have seen considerable increase in SME deployment and distribution in the UAE last year. The partnership has successfully proved its ability to bridge the funding gap for SMEs and strengthen the UAE’s SME ecosystem, supporting the national agenda to build a robust knowledge-based economy.”

Ahmed Al Naqbi, CEO of Emirates Development Bank, said: “Today marks a significant milestone in our journey to support the economic strength of the UAE. We aim to create a nationwide ecosystem for financing innovation and enhancing bankability and financial inclusion of SMEs. This can only be achieved through partnerships. We recognize the strong working relationships we have with our partner banks and FinTech partners, who have played a crucial role in the success of the CGS. We will continue to work together to support SMEs, the backbone of our economy. Today, we are also proud to celebrate that since the launch of our new strategy in April 2021, we have deployed Dhs813 million in Credit Guarantee Scheme capital, which is a testament to our commitment to empowering SMEs and driving economic growth.”

The Bank invited senior representatives from Commercial Bank of Dubai, National Bank of Umm-Quwain, Emirates NBD, ADCB, FAB, Mashreq, RAK Bank, National Bank of Fujairah, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates Islamic Bank along with the CEO and Co-founders of fintechs, YAP and Beehive to receive recognition trophies, highlighting their support of the Credit Guarantee Scheme.

EDB is committed to supporting the growth of SMEs and promoting innovation in the UAE’s business landscape. In line with this mission, EDB offers its digital services to UAE-based SMEs through the ‘EDB Business Banking’ app, powered by YAP. The app provides a business bank account and an IBAN number within 48 hours, along with a comprehensive range of fast, secure, and round-the-clock banking services. To further enable SMEs, EDB has partnered with Beehive, integrating a new digital lending feature that allows eligible SMEs to apply for loans of up to AED 5 million directly through the ‘EDB Business Banking’ app and receive approval or feedback within five days. For a seamless user experience, the app is integrated with UAE Pass. Since its launch in September 2021, the EDB Business Banking app has successfully onboarded 2,094 customers.

SMEs can also receive support via a range of non-financial products and services, including The Business Lab, an online platform that provides free essential resources and content to help entrepreneurs at various stages of their business development. Entrepreneurs can receive practical professional tips on how to address common business challenges delivered through short films.

EDB offers a patient debt approach with an emphasis on developmental impact. The Bank’s direct and indirect financing is offered with long tenors, higher loan-to-value ratios, lower rates and interest grace periods.

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.