EDB commits more than AED 721 million to promote food security projects under its five-year strategy

Emirates Development Bank (EDB) has announced that since the launch of its new strategy in April 2021, the bank has approved more than AED 721 million in financial support for food security projects.

The BED has allocated AED 30 billion to support 13,500 SMEs in five priority sectors: manufacturing, renewable energy, technology, healthcare and food security.

The announcement was made today as EDB concluded its successful participation in the Agra Middle East Exhibition (AgraME 2023), the largest agricultural fair in the region, which took place in conjunction with Medium AgroFarm at the Dubai World Trade Center from October 9 to 10. The EDB stand attracted an impressive turnout of visitors and key industry players who were interested in exploring the Bank’s financial solutions to support innovations in food production and boost food security in the region.

Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, CEO of the Emirates Development Banksaying,

“It is important that we support investments in agriculture and innovation to boost national food security. Enabling the UAE’s food production and agricultural technology capabilities provides enormous opportunities for stakeholders across the entire value chain, from farmers to small and large food and technology producers. Events like Agra Middle East are great platforms to showcase scalable opportunities to promote sustainable agriculture.

“As the UAE’s development bank, we are uniquely positioned to drive agribusiness investment through our flexible financing solutions. Our targeted agricultural loans are tailored to the needs of large and small businesses, allowing us to support the climate-smart agriculture to achieve the ambitious objectives set out in our National Food Security Strategy 2051.”

Food security is one of the five priority sectors that EDB supports to contribute to the UAE’s national development and economic diversification plans. The Bank has a dedicated AgriTech Loan Program Provide significant financial support to enable local food production and boost food security. The program stimulates much-needed capital in the agritech industry and offers favorable long-term loans of up to AED 5 million to local producers, farmers, agribusinesses and food-related projects. The Bank has also recently allocated AED 100 million to support this customized programme.

EDB’s support for agricultural technology and food security is guided by the bank’s focus on driving economic impact and enabling the growth of sectors of strategic importance to the UAE’s national development. In particular, the EDB’s financial solutions and agritech loans are in line with the UAE’s strategies to create sustainable food systems and intensify its commitment to climate finance, particularly in support of food security.

The United Arab Emirates launched the COP28 Food and Agriculture Agenda ahead of the COP28 conference to ensure that the world has a dedicated platform to discuss food security issues and the financing of innovations in food systems. In line with this approach, EDB is working in partnership with various local entities and initiatives that are addressing climate change and promoting sustainable agricultural and agri-tech innovations.

These include for example the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and Food Tech Valley in Dubai.

The EDB stand at AgraME2023 included a presentation of its Agrtech Loan Program and financing solutions aimed at supporting SMEs and startups operating in the agricultural sector and its downstream industries.

EDB offers a patient debt approach with an emphasis on development impact. The Bank’s direct and indirect financing is offered with long terms, higher loan-to-value ratios, lower rates and interest grace periods.

News source: Emirates News Agency