Abu Dhabi: The Emirates Development Bank (EDB), a key financial enabler of the country’s economic diversification and industrial transformation agenda, has signed a Memoradum of Understanding (MoU) with Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Turkey) region, to offer a credit guarantee scheme for SMEs in the UAE.

The MoU with Emirates NBD is part of the bank’s shared commitment to boost the SME ecosystem in the UAE and enhance the contribution of SMEs to the country’s GDP. EDB’s partnership with Emirates NBD will focus on providing strategic financing solutions to SMEs.

Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, Chief Executive Officer of EDB, signed the MoU with Shayne Nelson, Group CEO of Emirates NBD.

As part of the MoU, EDB will provide financing guarantee coverage of up to 50% of the facility amount being lent to SME customers by Emirates NBD, subject to a maximum of AED 5M for larger SMEs and up to AED 500K for smaller customers. The credit guarantee program provides a robust platform for Emirates NBD and EDB to enhance lending for SMEs with focus on priority sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, infrastructure, food security and technology.

Speaking of the MoU, Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, Chief Executive Officer, EDB said: “EDB is pleased to sign the MoU with Emirates NBD as part of our endeavor to support the country’s economic diversification plans and bridging the funding gap for SMEs operating in priority sectors in the UAE. In collaboration with Emirates NBD, we look forward to facilitating easy access to financial sources for SMEs, supporting the UAE’s goals to build a robust knowledge-based economy and contributing to sustainable economic development.”

In his comments, Shayne Nelson, Group CEO of Emirates NBD said: “As a leading bank in the country, Emirates NBD has always championed the needs of homegrown SMEs that contribute to the UAE economy. We are pleased to join hands with EDB as part of our long-term, strategic commitment to further the growth of small businesses in the UAE through appropriate and timely financing support, enabling more entities to access credit easily to grow their businesses.”

The MoU is aligned with EDB’s recently-unveiled strategy, offering direct and indirect lending for SMEs (Supply Chain, Project and 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).

Emirates NBD offers a comprehensive suite of banking services for SME customers, comprising transactional banking, cash management, funded and non-funded facilities, working capital financing, as well as FX, insurance and investment services. Customers can also avail of loans against POS receivables or properties where there is no requirement of audited financials. The bank’s state-of-the-art smartBUSINESS online platform provides customers with a wide range of transactional and payment capabilities. 

About Emirates NBD

Emirates NBD (DFM: Emirates NBD) is a leading Banking Group in the MENAT region. As at 30th June 2021, total assets were AED 694 Billion, (equivalent to approx. USD 187 Billion). The acquisition of DenizBank represents a significant milestone for Emirates NBD with the Group expanding its presence to 13 countries, servicing over 14 million customers. The Group is ranked among the top 20 in the Forbes’ list of the World’s Best Regarded Companies, securing a leading spot among global brands.

The Group has a significant retail banking franchise in the UAE and is a key participant in the global digital banking industry with 94% of all financial transactions and requests conducted outside of its branches. The Group announced the creation of E20., a digital business bank for entrepreneurs and SMEs while Liv., the lifestyle digital bank for millennials continued to be the fastest growing retail proposition in the UAE. Emirates NBD was named ‘Best Bank in the Middle East’ and ‘UAE’s Best Bank’ in 2021 for a seventh consecutive year by Euromoney. In addition, Emirates NBD received the ‘Excellence in Leadership in the Middle East’ award, introduced in 2020 in light of the Covid-19 impact, as a recognition of its efforts in responding to the Covid-19 crisis. Emirates NBD ranked 5th in Forbes’ Top 100 companies in the Middle East for 2021. The Bank is ranked 87th in The Banker’s list of the World’s Top 1,000 Banks.  Emirates NBD was named ‘Bank of the Year – UAE 2020’ for the sixth year and ‘Bank of the Year – Middle East 2020’ for the third time by The Banker. In addition, Emirates NBD has been assessed as the ‘Strongest Bank in the UAE’ and ‘Fifth Strongest Bank in the Middle East’ by The Asian Banker 500 Largest and Strongest Banks Rankings.

The Group has operations in the UAE, Egypt, India, Turkey, 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 905 branches and 4,044 ATMs / SDMs. The Group has a large social media following, being the only bank in the Middle East ranked among the top 20 in the ‘Power 100 Social Media Rankings’, compiled by The Financial Brand for 2019. Emirates NBD is a major player in the UAE corporate segment and has strong Islamic banking, investment banking, private banking, asset management, global markets & treasury and brokerage operations.

Emirates NBD is an active participant and supporter of the UAE’s main development and community initiatives, in close alignment with the UAE government’s strategies, including financial literacy and advocacy for inclusion of People with Disabilities under its #TogetherLimitless platform. The Group is recognised for the pioneering efforts in employee volunteering and corporate social responsibility by IMPACT2030, the corporate volunteering arm of the United Nations. Emirates NBD Group is a Premier Partner and the Official Banking Partner for Expo 2020 Dubai.

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