Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 6th May 2026: One year after its launch at Make It In The Emirates 2025, Emirates Growth Fund (EGF) returned to MIITE 2026 to mark its first anniversary with two landmark announcements: the launch of the National Champions Program (NCP) — a trilateral initiative with the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MOIAT) and the Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MOET) to systematically scale the UAE’s most capable industrial SMEs — and the signing of a strategic industrial resilience agreement with MOIAT and ADNOC to strengthen domestic supply chains and accelerate the localisation of critical industrial capabilities.
Both announcements mark a defining moment in EGF’s first year — capital deployed across national priority sectors, programs launched, and a national platform now in place to identify, scale, and integrate the UAE’s most capable industrial businesses.
National Champions Program
The National Champions Program was officially unveiled by H.E. Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports and Chairman of Emirates Growth Fund, and H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy.
To mark the occasion, EGF convened a high-level Manufacturing Roundtable bringing together H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, and the CEOs of leading UAE manufacturers including Borouge and Rawabi — uniting policymakers, investors, and industrial operators in a single forum to align on the UAE’s manufacturing growth agenda.
The National Champions Program brings together policy alignment through MoIAT, market enablement through MOET, and growth equity capital through EGF — creating a unified platform to accelerate SME growth, expand market access, and anchor the UAE’s position as a hub for advanced manufacturing. The National Champions Program is open to UAE-based manufacturing SMEs in priority sectors. Further details on eligibility and the application process will be announced in due course.
H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said: “The UAE is building an ambitious industrial model based on enablement, partnership, and turning national potential into sustainable production. The Ruwad Al Watan Program embodies that approach by helping high-potential manufacturers to grow, integrate into national value chains, and contribute to a more resilient and competitive industrial base in line with the National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology and Make it in the Emirates.”
H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, said: “The National Champions Program reflects the UAE’s resolve to build globally competitive industrial businesses from within the country. By enabling high-potential SMEs to scale, we are accelerating diversification, deepening industrial resilience, and reinforcing the UAE’s emergence as a premier economic and manufacturing hub regionally and globally.”
H.E. Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports, and Chairman of Emirates Growth Fund, said: “In its first year, EGF has focused on building the foundations of a more integrated industrial ecosystem, where capital, policy and market access work together to enable companies to scale with strength and discipline. The launch of initiatives such as NCP marks the next phase of our journey. It represents a more structured and coordinated approach to scaling high-potential UAE manufacturers. And as we enter the second year, our focus remains clear to support the development of globally competitive enterprises that are built to endure, contribute to national capability, and play a defining role in shaping the UAE’s industrial future.”
Industrial Resilience Agreement — EGF x MOIAT x ADNOC
In a separate signing at MIITE 2026, EGF entered into a strategic industrial resilience agreement with MOIAT and ADNOC under ADNOC’s In-Country Value (ICV) program. The agreement aligns EGF’s investment activity with national supply chain priorities — enabling local industrial suppliers to scale, integrate into ADNOC’s supply chain, and contribute to the localisation of critical industrial capabilities across the UAE.
One Year of EGF
In its first year, EGF has deployed capital into high-potential UAE SMEs across national priority sectors — including CarniStore, scaling the UAE’s premium protein supply chain, and Tarmeem, strengthening domestic healthcare infrastructure — forging strategic partnerships across government and industry, and laying the foundations of a connected industrial ecosystem. MIITE 2026 marks not only the Fund’s anniversary but the moment its platform becomes fully operational: capital at work, programs launched, and a national coalition assembled to drive the UAE’s industrial transformation.
EGF participates at MIITE 2026 as Exclusive Growth Capital Partner — reinforcing its position as the UAE’s flagship growth equity investor, connecting policy, capital, and industry to drive sustainable, long-term industrial growth.
Now in its fifth year, MIITE 2026 — taking place 4–7 May at ADNEC, Abu Dhabi — is the UAE’s flagship platform for national industrial transformation, bringing together advanced technology, policy, and industry to strengthen local manufacturing, deepen value chains, and empower companies to build, scale, and export from the UAE.
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.
About the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT):
The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) of the United Arab Emirates shapes industrial policies, advances technology transformation, enhances the competitiveness of the national industrial sector, and develops the UAE’s quality infrastructure. These efforts support the growth of a sustainable and advanced industrial economy, recognizing industry as a cornerstone of the national economy and security, contributing to stability, continuity, and resilience in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
Established in July 2020, the Ministry was created to empower the national industrial sector and accelerate industrial transformation across the UAE. MoIAT builds strategic partnerships and leads national initiatives that support the growth of future industries, strengthen economic resilience, and attract industrial investment.
The Ministry works to advance the objectives of the National Industry and Advanced Technology Strategy, strengthen supply chain resilience, support technology transformation and expand access to global markets. It focuses on accelerating the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies across priority sectors including food security, healthcare, defense, space, aerospace and digital economy.
MoIAT also enhances national In-Country Value (ICV), supports entrepreneurship, and empowers Emirati talent, contributing to the competitiveness of UAE manufactured products in both local and international markets.
Through initiatives such as Make it in the Emirates, the National In-Country Value (ICV) Program, and the Technology Transformation Program (TTP), MoIAT connects manufacturers, investors, startups, and entrepreneurs to offtake opportunities, financing solutions, and strategic partnerships that enable business growth, advance industrial self-sufficiency, and deliver tangible economic and social impact.
For more information, visit www.moiat.gov.ae