Khalifa Fund shores up backing for Emiratis

The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (KFED) has recently awarded the Emirati Entrepreneurs Association (EEA) with a package of quality support programmes, including financial and technical support, to be used for Emirati entrepreneurs’ skills and capacity development and creation of a suitable environment where their business projects could flourish.

Mouza Al Nasri, Acting Chief Executive Officer at Khalifa Fund, said: “We consider the Emirati Entrepreneurs Association our strategic partner. We vow to cooperate and work with the Association to promote entrepreneurship and the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector in the country.”

Al Nasri said that the KFED provides various forms of support to the Emirati entrepreneurs such as facilitating their participation in local and international exhibitions and forums and giving them exemptions and priority in government procurement processes. The Fund also supports its beneficiaries with access to consultation services and advanced training programmes to help them enhance their business abilities and sharpen their skills to resolve challenges every step of the way, from conception to execution of their projects and beyond.

Al Nasri met Sanad Al Meqbali, Chairman of the Emirati Entrepreneurs Association, in the presence of Khaled Al Fahim, Secretary of the Association, and the Fund’s other senior officials. During their meeting, Al Nasri underscored that communication and cooperation between the two parties are vital to provide the SME sector in the UAE with the best services. She also assured that the organisation would work to convey the opinions, suggestions, concerns, and needs of UAE entrepreneurs to concerned federal and local entities.

She added: “We will continue our close coordination and collaborations with government entities in Abu Dhabi and the UAE, which demonstrates our continuing support for the SME sector in particular and the country’s economy in general. Through these collaborations, we look towards providing an attractive and positive environment where businesses can thrive accordingly. This is in line with our understanding that SMEs are one of the core pillars of this country’s stable and sustainable economic development.”

Al Meqbali thanked Khalifa Fund for the financial and technical support it provided for the Emirati Entrepreneurs Association, saying that it will enable the Association to efficiently implement key initiatives aimed at enhancing the culture of entrepreneurship in the country and empowering local entrepreneurs. Al Meqbali noted that they have been able to implement many successful and influential initiatives and programmes despite its limited financial resources.

Al Meqbali explained that the EEA aims to attract aspiring young UAE entrepreneurs as it encourages them to initiate quality projects with strong economic impact across various fields. He also pointed out that the Association’s main objective is to provide technical, administrative, and advisory support to entrepreneurs through offering them a range of training courses to develop their abilities.

Also, he said that the EEA seeks to develop the local SME sector by strengthening its relations with the public and private sectors and helping unify their efforts to improve the level of non-financial support to entrepreneurs.

The Emirati Entrepreneurs Association was officially registered in 2014 with support from Khalifa Fund to help encourage and coordinate joint efforts across local entrepreneurs and SMEs, including the adoption and implementation of innovative initiatives and activities. The Association helps identify and address the needs of UAE SMEs, which are considered the backbone of the national economy.

Recently, The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, KFED, announced the opening of registration for innovators and entrepreneurs running small and medium enterprises, SMEs, who are keen to participate in the third edition of ‘Pitch@Palace UAE’.