Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 8th May 2026: At Make it in the Emirates 2026, the Emirates Growth Fund (EGF) cemented its role as the UAE’s growth capital partner for industrial SMEs — launching the National Champions Program, signing a trilateral agreement with MOIAT and ADNOC to drive industrial resilience and supply chain localisation, and formalising a network of collaborative partnerships with leading banks, ecosystem partners, and enablers to expand SME access to growth capital.
ADNEC, Abu Dhabi — Make it in the Emirates 2026 marked a defining moment for Emirates Growth Fund — and a fitting close to its first year. Twelve months of building, investing, and embedding itself in the UAE’s industrial agenda culminated at ADNEC across four days in which EGF moved from commitment to action — bringing together ministers, industry leaders, institutional partners, and high-growth UAE manufacturers around a single, shared agenda: building UAE SMEs into the resilient, globally competitive enterprises the country’s industrial vision demands.
EGF’s presence at MIITE 2026 was anchored by three landmark developments. The official launch of the National Champions Program established EGF’s flagship initiative as the structured pathway for UAE manufacturers to access the capital, governance support, and institutional backing needed to scale. The trilateral strategic agreement with MOIAT and ADNOC created a national framework to localise critical supply chains and embed UAE manufacturing SMEs into the country’s energy and industrial ecosystem. And a series of collaborative agreements with leading banks, ecosystem partners, and enablers extended EGF’s network of support — ensuring that the companies EGF backs can access not just growth equity, but the full institutional infrastructure needed to grow with confidence.
Together, these commitments represent EGF’s most consequential week since its establishment — and a clear statement of where EGF stands: at the centre of the UAE’s industrial growth agenda, operating as an active partner in building what UAE manufacturing can become.
“The formidable strength of the UAE’s economy rests on an integrated ecosystem of institutions and investment vehicles, each operating within a defined mandate to drive growth and boost the competitiveness of critical sectors. Within this architecture, 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.
In its first year, the Fund has established a results-driven approach rooted in active partnership with founders, strengthening governance frameworks, building institutional capacity, and unlocking new market pathways. The distinctive programs and strategic partnerships signed during ‘Make it in the Emirates 2026’ mark a significant step forward in our commitment to enhancing the resilience, efficiency and global competitiveness of the UAE’s industrial sector.”
H.E. Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports and Chairman of the Emirates Growth Fund
National Champions Program: Official launch
The National Champions Program (NCP) was officially launched at MIITE 2026 in partnership with the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and the Ministry of Economy and Tourism. EGF’s flagship initiative, the NCP is designed to identify, accelerate, and scale high-potential UAE manufacturing SMEs into resilient, globally competitive national champions — providing growth capital alongside governance support, strategic guidance, and access to the institutional network that serious growth requires.
The program addresses a structural gap that has long constrained UAE manufacturing ambition. Many of the country’s most promising manufacturers have proven their model and demonstrated real potential — but remain caught between early-stage support programs and large-scale industrial policy, without the capital structure, governance, or partnerships to break through. The NCP is built specifically to close that gap. It gives companies the framework to grow; EGF provides the capital to make that growth real.
The launch was presided over by H.E. Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports and EGF Chairman, alongside H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism and H.E. Najla Al Midfa, Vice Chair and Managing Director of EGF. It was followed by a high-level Manufacturing Roundtable that convened government leadership, institutional partners, and a curated group of UAE manufacturers identified as National Champions Program candidates — marking the NCP not just as a program announcement, but as a working commitment backed by the country’s most senior industrial stakeholders.
A landmark trilateral agreement and a network of institutional partnerships
The headline institutional commitment of MIITE 2026 was a trilateral strategic agreement between the Emirates Growth Fund, the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, and ADNOC — establishing a national framework to strengthen UAE industrial resilience, drive localisation of critical supply chains, and open ADNOC’s industrial and energy ecosystem to UAE manufacturing SMEs with the scale and capability to compete.
Alongside the trilateral agreement, EGF signed collaborative partnerships with leading UAE banks, industrial ecosystem partners, and enablers — building a coordinated network of support around the SMEs it backs. The aim is straightforward: that no high-potential UAE manufacturer should be held back by a gap in capital, banking access, or institutional connectivity. EGF and its partners are collectively closing that gap.
“This week is a reflection of what EGF was built to do — not only to invest but to build companies. 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.”
Khalifa Al Hajeri, Chief Executive Officer, Emirates Growth Fund
First anniversary: One year, built to last
MIITE 2026 also marked one year since EGF’s establishment. EGF hosted a private lunch at ADNEC for its Board, portfolio founders, institutional partners, and key stakeholders — a moment to reflect on the distance covered in twelve months, and to look ahead with the clarity that only a fully deployed fund, with real companies and real partnerships behind it, can have. One year ago, EGF was a mandate. Today it is a growth capital partner with national scale, a growing portfolio, a flagship program, and the institutional relationships to match.
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. Through active partnership, EGF empowers founders to institutionalise their operations and expand their market reach — enabling homegrown businesses to scale from regional players to globally competitive enterprises, and shaping the next generation of UAE National Champions.
At Make it in the Emirates 2026, EGF participates as Exclusive Growth Capital Partner — reinforcing its position as the central capital institution driving the UAE’s industrial growth agenda.