The Emirates Development Bank (EDB), the key financial engine of the UAE’s economic diversification and industrial transformation agenda, has signed a MoU with the Hamriyah Free Zone and the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF) to provide financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups operating in either of the free zones.
The MoU reflects the shared commitment to developing a supportive environment for business and accelerating the UAE’s economic diversification agenda by championing pioneering projects and emerging industries, it stated.
Under the MoU, EDB will offer its range of flexible financial solutions to SMEs and start-ups in Hamriyah Free Zone and SAIF, including capex financing for expansion or facility upgrades, greenfield and brownfield project finance, and financial support for the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies or clean energy transition, said Saud Salim Al Mazrouei, Director of Hamriyah Free Zone and SAIF, after signing the deal with Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, Chief Executive Officer of EDB.
“EDB’s support for companies within the Hamriyah Free Zone and SAIF will provide a significant boost to Sharjah’s economic diversification efforts, encouraging entrepreneurship and enabling a new generation of businesses to scale and grow,” he stated.
“The MoU also unlocks new financing potential for companies seeking to open operations in Sharjah, complementing existing initiatives in both free zones to enhance SMEs’ contribution to the local economy through facilities, advice and networking,” he added.
Al Naqbi said the MoU with two of Sharjah’s leading freezones reflects EDB’s policy of developing and then utilising nationwide partnerships to achieve their objectives.
This agreement will increase the bank’s pipeline of projects, helping them to identity promising companies that will benefit from financial support such as capex investment and credit guarantees, or non-financial services such as business advisory services, coaching, consulting, mentoring, and market research.
Both parties also discussed the possibility of arranging webinars and roadshows to familiarise companies operating in the free zones with the financing facilities offered by EDB.
Al Mazrouei pointed out that the EDB was an important national institution, providing financing and sustainable banking solutions for a critical segment of the national economy.
“The MoU is a testament to our joint efforts to nurture an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Sharjah. We are both deeply committed to helping emerging companies in our free zones expand their businesses and, as a result, contribute to the sustainable economic growth of the UAE,” he stated.
