Emirates Development Bank plans to pump 30 billion dirhams (USD 8 billion) across its domestic markets by year 2025, to support the industrial sector.

It said the move will create 25,000 jobs, and provide support for 13,500 companies in the country, said the CEO of EDB during the Global Manufacturing and Industrial Summit in Dubai.

Ahmed Al Naqbi said: “The bank was established to accelerate industrial development, enabling SMEs (small and medium enterprises) to become core pieces of the ecosystem, and to promote local entrepreneurship and start-ups.”

The bank’s funding in line with the UAE’s Operation 300 Billion strategy, which aims to raise the industrial sector's contribution to the country’s gross domestic product from 133 billion dirhams to 300 billion dirhams by 2031.