We want to protect the exporters against political and commercial risks

Massimo Falcioni, CEO of Etihad Credit Insurance

abu dhabi — Exporters are backbone of the UAE economy and needed to be protected in ways possible, said Massimo Falcioni, chief executive officer of Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI).

ECI is beginning operations in the UAE with an aim to support the export and re-export of UAE goods, works, services and the foreign investments of UAE firms, through the provision of a range of export credit, financing and investment insurance products.

“We want to protect the exporters against political and commercial risks,” Falcioni said.

He added ECI has Dh1 billion capital to set up operations and infrastructure.

“We will focus on investments in IT. We will use artificial intelligence to better manage risks.”

Advanced technology, he said, will help guarantee secure transactions.

In its bid to boost export trade through the promotion of Shariah-compliant export credit and investment insurance instruments, ECI on Wednesday entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group. The MoU was signed by Falcioni and ICIEC chief executive officer Oussama Abdel Rahman Kaissi at Etihad Towers, which will also serve as headquarters for ECI.

“The MoU will help to support small and medium enterprises operating in the UAE, encouraging them to export and providing solutions to meet the funding problems,” Falcioni said.