The Emirates Growth Fund (EGF) has made a series of significant announcements at Make it in the Emirates 2026, cementing its position as a central player in the UAE’s industrial strategy. The fund launched its flagship National Champions Program and signed a strategic trilateral agreement with the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MOIAT) and ADNOC, both aimed at scaling the nation’s manufacturing SMEs and localising critical supply chains.
Quick Facts
- Official launch of the National Champions Program for SMEs.
- Trilateral strategic agreement signed with MOIAT and ADNOC.
- New collaborative partnerships formed with leading UAE banks.
A New Pathway for National Champions
The National Champions Program (NCP) was officially launched in partnership with MOIAT and the Ministry of Economy and Tourism. The initiative is designed to identify and accelerate high-potential UAE manufacturing SMEs, providing them with growth capital, governance support, and strategic guidance to become globally competitive.
The program targets a structural gap in the ecosystem, where promising manufacturers often find themselves too large for early-stage support but lack the capital and institutional backing for significant expansion. The NCP aims to provide a clear framework for growth, with EGF supplying the necessary capital to scale operations.
The launch was followed by a high-level roundtable that included government officials, institutional partners, and a curated group of manufacturers identified as potential candidates for the program.
“The formidable strength of the UAE’s economy rests on an integrated ecosystem of institutions and investment vehicles,” said H.E. Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports and Chairman of the Emirates Growth Fund. “The Emirates Growth Fund plays a pivotal role in empowering national industrial SMEs to scale, providing long-term growth capital to high-potential enterprises with the capacity for sustainable strategic expansion.”
Strategic Alliance to Localise UAE Supply Chains
A headline agreement at the event was the trilateral strategic partnership between EGF, MOIAT, and ADNOC. This creates a national framework to strengthen the UAE’s industrial resilience by localising key supply chains and integrating capable manufacturing SMEs into ADNOC’s vast energy and industrial ecosystem.
Alongside this major agreement, EGF formalized a series of collaborative partnerships with leading UAE banks and other ecosystem enablers. This network is intended to ensure that high-growth manufacturers backed by the fund have comprehensive access to capital, banking services, and institutional connectivity.
The announcements coincided with EGF’s first anniversary, marking a year of investing and embedding itself within the UAE’s industrial agenda.
“This week is a reflection of what EGF was built to do — not only to invest but to build companies,” stated Khalifa Al Hajeri, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Growth Fund. “The partnerships we have formalised, the program we have launched, and the commitments we have made alongside MOIAT and ADNOC are all in service of the same goal: giving UAE manufacturers with real potential the capital, the structure, and the network to become the national champions this country’s industrial future depends on.”
About Emirates Growth Fund
The Emirates Growth Fund (EGF) is the UAE’s flagship growth equity investor. Launched by H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber at Make it in the Emirates 2025 and backed by Emirates Development Bank, EGF is purpose-built to scale UAE-based companies in four sectors critical to the nation’s industrial future: manufacturing, food and agriculture, healthcare, and advanced technology. EGF is the only fund in the UAE exclusively focused on growth-stage businesses, providing strategic minority growth equity paired with active value creation.
Source: Zawya
