$27M to be provided by the MBRIF for financial support in 2018
By Rana Freifer / Wamda - Image Credit : Facebook
SOURCE : Wamda - Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund to provide a $27M financial support during 2018
Haitham Kamhiyah, CEO of Emirates Development Bank, the host and operator of the MBRIF revealed in an interview with Wamda that “The Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF) plans to provide financial support aggregating AED 100 million (US $27.2 million) for the year 2018”.
MBRIF is a federally-sponsored initiative conceived and sponsored by the Ministry of Finance to support local innovators in accessing affordable finance through the provision of a government-backed guarantee. Financing ticket sizes range from AED 1 million ($272,250) to AED 10 million ($2.7 million).
“The fund is in line with the UAE National Innovation Strategy (Vision 2021), with the aim to place UAE among the top 10 most innovative nations in the world. Currently, the UAE is ranked 35th on the Global Innovation Index as per 2017,” he said.
The AED 2 billion ($544.5 million) fund was announced in November 2015 during the UAE’s inaugural Innovation Week which sought to showcase a variety of innovative initiatives across federal and local levels of government and within the private sector.
Kamhiyah announced that MBRIF is currently evaluating a plan to disburse AED 22 million (almost US$ 6 million) among shortlisted innovative companies in the UAE in Q2 2018.
Source: wamda.com