DMCC, the world’s leading Free Zone for trade and enterprise in Dubai, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with Dubai SME, the agency of Dubai Economy mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise, SME, sector.

The collaboration sets out to create a web-based trade finance platform for SMEs, where they pledge their assets for lending purposes. The platform will be Sharia-compliant and operate under the DMCC Authority regulatory framework.

Present at the signing ceremony was Gautam Sashittal, Chief Executive Officer of DMCC, and Abdul Baset Al Janahi, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai SME.

Gautam Sashittal, CEO of DMCC, said, ''This cooperation between DMCC and Dubai SME opens a new avenue for funding and financing SMEs. We are all aware that SMEs have had a challenge securing financing to grow their businesses, this cooperation will be valuable to all SMEs based in Dubai".

Abdul Baset Al Janahi, CEO of Dubai SME, said, "The SME sector in the UAE has evolved remarkably during the past decade chiefly due to support from the government. Dubai SME is currently working on an SME 2021 Plan drawing on the emphasis given to innovation and entrepreneurship in the Dubai 2021 Plan. The focus of our plan is on encouraging and enabling people who have innovative ideas to turn them into successful business projects that add value to the national economy.

''Dubai SME also has varied programmes to stimulate growth and adoption of innovative business models among SMEs as well as to enhance productivity in the sector eventually integrating them as key players in a competitive, knowledge-based economy as envisioned by the Dubai Plan 2021."

"Dubai SME focuses on competitive solutions that support the entrepreneurial journey and enterprise life cycle. The MoU is among a series of such partnerships we continue to create after identifying a gap that existed in our SME landscape regarding mobilising resources to overcome challenges and sustain growth," added Al Janahi.

"Today, DMCC has over 14,100 companies in our Free Zone. Almost 80 percent of these companies are SMEs. We believe through this cooperation and creating SME funds; we will be able to grow the SME sector for the benefit of all," Mr. Sashittal concluded.