EDB signs financing pact with Dubai food tech centre

Emirates Development Bank has signed an initial agreement with Food Tech Valley to provide funding for small and medium enterprises and start-ups.

Under the agreement, the two parties will support technology-based companies operating, or seeking to operate, within Food Tech Valley by extending funding, holding road shows and seminars, offering mentoring programmes and arranging knowledge transfers, EDB said yesterday.

“The partnership will further boost the government’s vision of diversifying the economy by encouraging tenants to set up their businesses at Food Tech Valley,” said Hesham Al Qassim, chief executive of Wasl Asset Management Group, which is developing the project in partnership with the Ministry of State for Food Security.

“We are confident that all the partners on board will help attract local and foreign direct investments within the field to achieve the government’s mission of transforming the UAE into a global hub for tech-based food and agricultural solutions.”

Food Tech Valley was set up last May to further develop vertical farming and other advanced agriculture technology to strengthen the UAE’s food security. The centre aims to triple the UAE’s food production and make the country more self-sufficient.

The size of the global agricultural technology market is projected to grow to $22 billion over the next four years, from the current $13.5bn, Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment and Minister of State for Food Security, said last year.

Food Tech Valley will have four main clusters: AgriTech and engineering, a food innovation centre, research and development centres and an advanced smart food logistics centre. Its focus is to attract and support new agricultural technology, bridging global and local knowledge in the field, while establishing a collaborative network to export knowledge for a sustainable food system.

The partnership between EDB and Food Tech Valley is in line with the lender’s efforts to support economic diversification and is aligned with the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy 2051 to introduce resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity, said Ahmed Al Naqbi, chief executive of EDB.

“Through this agreement, we aim to give value-added financing support to start-ups, SMEs and international companies, and we look forward to building new partnerships with emerging companies in such a vital sector,” he said.

The size of the global agricultural technology market is projected to grow to $22 billion over the next four years