The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) took part in a digital event hosted by Colombia's Presidential Agency of International Cooperation (APC-Colombia) to launch a project to support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The program will be financed with Dhs37 million ($10 million) from a Dhs165 million ($45 million) grant from the UAE government to Colombia.

The project involves both financial and non-financial assistance, with the latter including technical assistance, capacity building, action planning for individual agencies, and linking manufacturers, producers, and consumers through a shared digital platform.

Khalifa Al Qubaisi, ADFD's Deputy Director-General; Jose Manuel, Colombia's Minister of Trade, Industry, and Tourism; Salem Rashid Al Owais, UAE Ambassador to Colombia; Jaime Amin, Colombian Ambassador to the UAE; and other officials from both sides attended the ceremony.

The project, which will begin in the second quarter of this year, will assist 1,600 MSMEs in overcoming the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic by rising production, export volumes, and competitiveness, resulting in job creation and a rise in the quality of life.

Al Qubaisi hailed the project as a watershed moment in ADFD's strategic relationship with Colombia, reiterating the Fund's dedication to assisting the country in achieving long-term economic growth through strategic projects. Like other high-impact projects we've funded in Colombia in the past, this one is expected to make a major contribution to the country's long-term socio-economic growth by fostering MSME sector innovation, increasing competitiveness, and improving access to the global market.

Al Qubaisi went on to say that the sector's overall progress will help the beneficiary country achieve SDGs 8 and 9, which deals with "decent work and economic growth" and "industry, innovation, and infrastructure," and several other SDGs.

“With this fund, we will be able to strengthen our relations with ADFD and the UAE government even further. It will go a huge way towards bolstering the MSME market, which is critical to our country's industrial growth. Manuel went on to say, "We look forward to a fruitful future of our strategic relationship."

In 2017, the Abu Dhabi Fund began its development work in Colombia. It has spent Dhs165 million on projects since then, including a $10 million initiative to construct and equip 37 child growth centers that will serve 5,000 children. These activities were in line with Colombia's long-term economic agenda.

Previously this month the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) Board of Directors approved a Dhs735 million ($200 million) allocation for the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX) to accommodate export funding which will help the UAE's national companies expand their exports. The budget allocation for 2021 increased by 33.3 %, from Dhs184 million ($50 million) in 2020 to Dhs184 million ($50 million) in 2021. It also decreases UAE exporters' vulnerability and financial exposure in foreign transactions.

Access to export financing will also help to advance the UAE's latest "Project 300 billion" and "Make it in the UAE" effective measures, which aim to double the value of the country's manufacturing and industrial production over the next ten years. “The newly announced ‘Make it in the UAE’ initiative reinforces the strategic importance of our manufacturing and industrial sector to our future sustainable economic growth strategy,” said Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director-General of ADFD and Chairman of the Executive Committee of ADEX.

“As our manufacturing capacities develop and diversify, we will have the ability to continue to expand the UAE's export economy. UAE manufacturers will take advantage of ADEX's financial support and security to expand their foreign operations and help us achieve our national target of $300 billion.”