Abu Dhabi (Al-Ittihad) The Emirates Development Bank affirmed its continuation of its efforts and achievements in support of enhancing financial inclusion in the UAE by enhancing the banking ability of entrepreneurs and start-ups, small and medium enterprises, and enhancing their ability to access financial services, through direct and indirect financing solutions and digital services.
On the occasion of the Arab Financial Inclusion Day, which falls on April 27 of each year, the bank stressed that the integrated solutions it provides to companies, especially small and medium ones, through direct or indirect financing, such as loan guarantee programs in partnership with commercial banks, or through the bank’s digital solutions To ensure that entrepreneurs and project owners have access to comprehensive, safe and rapid banking solutions that support their businesses around the clock.
Ahmed Al Naqbi, CEO of the Emirates Development Bank, said: “Financial inclusion is one of the pillars of the sustainable economic development process. The main tools of the Emirates Development Bank to achieve financial inclusion are to offer specialized financial solutions and employ digital services to facilitate companies’ access to financing solutions that contribute to supporting the success of their business As part of the Emirates Development Bank’s mission to enable the economic diversification and industrial transformation agenda of the UAE and within our commitment to creating a supportive business environment, we offer flexible and customized financing solutions to small and medium-sized companies, which contribute to enhancing financial inclusion in the country and enabling these companies to expand their business and enhance their industrial role to accelerate the pace of sustainable economic development.
Al Naqbi added: “The Emirates Development Bank has made qualitative achievements that contributed to enhancing financial inclusion during the first year of implementing its new strategy, which places supporting the growth of small and medium-sized companies at the forefront of its priorities. The bank’s experience in achieving financial inclusion goals is full of many qualitative innovations to enhance corporate banking viability. SMEs, foremost of which is the launch of a digital application that provides easy and quick access to banking services for emerging and small and medium companies and partnerships with commercial banks to ensure their financing for small and medium companies, in addition to developing financing solutions that support business recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, and developing a specialized scale of development performance to assess Companies and projects that apply for financing according to their economic development impact, such as their potential contribution to GDP growth, job creation, national added value, their sector, and their access to funding sources, in addition to other criteria that commercial banks usually use in evaluation, such as risk and profit accounts.
Last September, the bank launched its digital solutions that allow start-ups, small and medium-sized companies, to issue an IBAN within minutes, and its activation is completed within 48 hours without any minimum balance, with the provision of digital banking services around the clock.
The bank launched the “Sanad” initiative worth 100 million dirhams, to enable the financing of small and medium-sized companies owned and managed by Emirati citizens and to support the acceleration of their growth after Covid-19, as funding requests are processed within five working days, and the financing evaluation process depends mainly on the financial performance of companies during In 2019 (before Covid), it also takes into account the financial performance of these companies for the years 2020 and 2021, taking into account the application of easing requirements.
Also, on the occasion of the “Arab Financial Inclusion Day”, the Emirates Development Bank participated in an event organized by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates. Financial inclusion standards that support small and medium enterprises by providing flexible and specialized financing solutions.
The launch of the Arab Day for Financial Inclusion was initiated by the Council of Governors of Arab Central Banks and Monetary Institutions in 2016. The Council adopted the 27th of April of each year to celebrate this occasion while defining the main objectives of supporting sustainable economic growth, creating job opportunities and promoting social justice.
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