Dubai, UAE: Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye (MENAT) region, announced the launch of the fifth cohort of its flagship Ruwad graduate leadership programme. Since its inception in September 2021, Ruwad has been central to the bank’s Emiratisation agenda, designed to accelerate the progression of high-potential UAE National graduates into management and ultimately executive roles.

The two-year programme combines exposure to Emirates NBD’s strategic projects with its hallmark feature - secondments with 15 leading partner organisations such as KPMG, Plug & Play, Visa and Dell. Increasingly, participants are also gaining global experience through placements in Emirates NBD’s international offices and those of its secondment partners, complemented by world-class training, performance management and mentoring.

Eman Abdulrazzaq, Group Chief Human Resources Officer at Emirates NBD, said: “Now in its fifth year, Ruwad has become strategically important to our Emiratisation agenda and to Emirates NBD’s wider growth strategy. As our bank expands internationally, this programme is preparing Emiratis not only for leadership roles here in the UAE but also for opportunities across our growing global network in markets such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, India and Türkiye.”

Since launching, Ruwad has delivered strong results with close to 100% of participants progressing into managerial roles well ahead of the typical timeframe. Each cohort has also sustained an approximate 50-50 gender balance, reinforcing Emirates NBD’s commitment to developing diverse leadership and achieving long-term female leadership targets.

May AlMansoori, Head of Group Emiratisation at Emirates NBD, said: “Ruwad’s unique structure is what makes it stand out. It combines elite secondments, exposure to strategic projects, and world-class training and mentoring that has enabled participants to reach managerial positions at twice the speed of traditional career paths. With equal gender representation across the programme and an expanding network of global secondment partners, Ruwad is creating confident, capable Emirati leaders who will shape the future of banking.”

Together with Bedaya, Ruwad forms the foundation of Emirates NBD’s investment in young Emirati talent. Beyond these entry pathways, the bank continues to accelerate the career progression of each Emirati through sponsored MBA programmes, executive education at Oxford University and other world-class institutions, and both domestic and international career mobility opportunities.

About Emirates NBD

Emirates NBD (DFM: Emirates NBD) is a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye) region with a presence in 13 countries, serving over 9 million active customers. As of 31st December 2024, total assets were AED 997 billion, (equivalent to approx. USD 271 billion). The Group has operations in the UAE, Egypt, India, Türkiye, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Russia and Bahrain and representative offices in China and Indonesia with a total of 848 branches and 4,601 ATMs / SDMs. Emirates NBD is the leading financial services brand in the UAE with a Brand value of USD 3.87 billion.  

Emirates NBD Group serves its customers (individuals, businesses, governments, and institutions) and helps them realise their financial objectives through a range of banking products and services including retail banking, corporate and institutional banking, Islamic banking, investment banking, private banking, asset management, global markets and treasury, and brokerage operations. The Group is a key participant in the global digital banking industry with 97% of all financial transactions and requests conducted outside of its branches. The Group also operates Liv, the lifestyle digital bank by Emirates NBD, with close to half a million users, it continues to be the fastest-growing bank in the region.

Emirates NBD contributes to the construction of a sustainable future as an active participant and supporter of the UAE’s main development and sustainability initiatives, including financial wellness and the inclusion of people of determination. Emirates NBD is committed to supporting the UAE’s Year of Sustainability as Principal Banking Partner of COP28 and an early supporter to the Dubai Can sustainability initiative, a city-wide initiative aimed to reduce use of single-use plastic bottled water.