Mohammed bin Rashid Fund for SMEs takes part in key entrepreneurship forums

By WAM

The Mohammed bin Rashid Fund for SME Support, known as The Fund, has scaled up its presence at key entrepreneurship forums, both in the UAE and abroad, in an effort to build further ties with strategic partners and review its growing experience with current and future entrepreneurs.

Most recently, The Fund participated in the Global Youth Forum 2015, which was held in Dubai over two days and organised by CSR – a division of Al Ahli Holding Group – to discuss ‘Social Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics’. Saeed Matar Al Marri, Director of The Fund, delivered a keynote speech to more than 150 UAE students at the forum about the ‘Importance of SMEs in Market’, citing the UAE as a case study.

“Dubai is a very competitive market and setting up a new business here is not that easy. However, it has a multitude of investment opportunities because this market continues to grow at a steady pace,” explained Al Marri.

“UAE entrepreneurs should pick and choose the innovative opportunities for investment and they should have ownership of it in order to guarantee its success. We at The Fund are more than happy to offer them the right support, be it financial, administrative or consultative,” he added.

Earlier on, Al Marri attended the Third Annual APAC SME Banking Conference held for two days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

He participated in a strategic panel discussion on the ‘Scene for SME financing and the potential impact of unviable, unsustainable business models on effective SME banking’, along with Y. Bhg Dato’ Hafsah Hashim – CEO of SME Corp in Malaysian, and Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka.

In addition, Hassan Abdulkarim, a Senior Manager at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Fund for SME, took part in a panel discussion on the SME sector in the UAE and the region which was organised by the Gulf Finance Corporation.

Also addressed by top entrepreneurial business owners, the discussion covered key issues surrounding the SME sector in the region, including the lack of mentorship and advisory bodies in some of the current SME funding models, the need for complimentary initiatives to facilitate the nurturing of businesses in the UAE and how the new company law will support SME growth.

Aimed at maximising financing solutions for innovative businesses and developing Emirati entrepreneurs, The Mohammed bin Rashid Fund for SME Support’s assets top AED600 million and offer Emirati nationals between 21 and 65 years of age one of two types of loans: the Seed Capital Loan, offered directly by The Fund to start-ups requiring funding of more than AED50,000 but not exceeding 500,000, and the Credit Scheme Loan, offered through banking partners and guaranteed by The Fund to both start-ups and existing businesses requiring a funding of more than AED 500,000 but not exceeding AED five million.

The Fund’s operating model ensures its sustainability through re-investing the loan settlement to finance new projects. The Fund allows for a maximum of two-year grace period through which no accumulating interests would be relayed to the seed loan. The period granted to settle the loan should not exceed seven years, including the two-year grace period.

In addition to its financing role, The Fund will act as an incubator to innovative projects through the Hamdan Innovation Incubator.