Emirates Development Bank
State-owned federal development bank of the United Arab Emirates, established by Federal Law No. 7 of 2011 and operating since 2015, financing industry, SMEs and startups.
Industry: Development banking | Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Founded: 2011
About Emirates Development Bank
Emirates Development Bank (EDB) is the federal development bank of the United Arab Emirates. It was set up under Federal Law No. 7 of 2011, issued under a decree by the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and sources describe it as officially launched in 2015 with capital of AED 10 billion (about USD 2.7 billion). The original law gave the bank a broad remit that included real estate credit for family housing, industrial and real estate projects, agricultural and craft activities, residential and building projects on behalf of the federal government, infrastructure projects and small and medium-sized enterprises. Since 2021 its strategy has concentrated on industry. Under that strategy the bank allocated a AED 30 billion portfolio over five years to priority industrial sectors, with a target of financing more than 13,500 SMEs and creating 25,000 jobs. The programme supports Operation 300bn, the national plan to raise the industrial sector's contribution to GDP to AED 300 billion by 2031. EDB reported cumulative financing of AED 15.7 billion since the 2021 strategy launched, as of early 2025, and an industrial GDP impact of AED 7.4 billion. For 2024 it reported a 222 percent year-on-year increase in financing to AED 8.7 billion. It set a financing target of AED 23 billion for 2025, directed at manufacturing, advanced technology, renewable energy and SMEs, and planned to expand industrial co-lending and digital initiatives. In October 2025 it announced a package of financing solutions worth AED 500 million (about USD 136 million) for Emirati start-ups and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. In April 2026 WAM reported that the bank had reached AED 1 billion in monthly financing approvals; Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, the bank's chief executive, was quoted in that announcement. The bank has also built programmes with partners. It launched a AED 350 million programme with Zelo that pays SMEs holding approved government invoices up to 95 percent of the invoice value within 24 hours. It has also announced a AED 1 billion growth fund for start-ups and SMEs that would take minority equity stakes of AED 10 million to AED 50 million alongside strategic guidance for founders. The National reported on a USD 750 million bond listing by the bank on Nasdaq Dubai. The bank publishes annual reports and press releases through its own website.