ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 13th Aug, 2018) The number of projects funded by the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, KFED, reached 1,364 projects in 2017, of which 27 percent are industrial projects while the total value of funding approved by the fund exceeded AED1.6 billion since its establishment in 2007.
In an interview with the Emirates news Agency, WAM, Abdullah Saeed Al Darmaki, CEO of KFED, said that the fund has been keen, since its establishment, to provide financial and moral support to owners of small and medium-sized enterprises, SME. The fund has also enabled 1,407 projects to benefit from its membership programme, as well as from its integrated services that include loans, he added.
The fund aims to develop SMEs, in light of its belief in their importance to the country's growing economy, in terms of promoting diversity, providing job opportunities, contributing to GDP, and raising competitiveness.
The projects funded by KFED are distributed around the UAE, with Abu Dhabi having the largest share.
Al Darmaki further added that KFED has prioritised economic diversity, by supporting projects from various sectors in many countries while highlighting the fund's belief in the importance of promoting the social and economic development of SMEs in the Northern regions.
He also pointed out that the fund is supporting projects in agriculture, programming, commercial works, artificial intelligence, AI, innovation, consumer products and other sectors while adding that they are proud of SMEs and have supported them during their growth, to guarantee their success and continuity.
He stressed that KFED also aims to increase the number of SMEs, guarantee their success and increase their profit margins while affirming the fund's commitment to creating specialist SMEs in the areas of life sciences, technology and light industries.
The fund provides facilitated loans and flexible repayments to SMEs from around the country, based on types of projects and targeted sectors, Al Darmaki said in conclusion.
