Startups and small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in Sharjah’s Hamriyah Free Zone or the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF) will now be able to access new avenues for financial support.
The financial support will be provided by the Emirates Development Bank (EDB), which is the key financial engine of the UAE’s economic diversification and industrial transformation agenda, as part of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the Sharjah free zones.
The director of the Hamriyah Free Zone and SAIF, Saud Salim Al Mazrouei said: “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.
“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.”
The MoU was signed at SAIF’s headquarters in Sharjah by Saud Salim Al Mazrouei and Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, the chief executive officer of EDB.
Under the MoU, EDB will offer its range of flexible financial solutions to SMEs and startups 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.
Al Mazrouei added: “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.”
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.
Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi said: “In line with our strategy to support the UAE’s economic diversification and industrial transformation agenda, EDB is helping to enhance the bankability of SMEs, startups and innovative projects launched by younger entrepreneurs across the country.
“Our goal is to facilitate their access to our range of financial services, enabling them to develop and expand their businesses, develop new economic sectors – especially those based on advanced technologies – and support sustainable economic development.”
Al Naqbi noted that 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.
Al Naqbi added: “EDB’s objective is to maximise its economic impact on the economy of the UAE. Our financial solutions are offered with high loan-to-value ratios with competitive rates, long tenors and grace periods, especially for companies that rate highly on our Development Impact Scorecard – which we developed to support projects that have a significant impact on the national economy.
“We are also enhancing bankability of this crucial sector through our digital banking app, which provides a bank account with an IBAN number in less than 48 hours, offering round-the-clock secure and convenient banking services without minimum balance.”
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.
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