Impact Report: Khalifa Fund funding has created 15,000 jobs in the UAE between 2007-2019 

The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development has developed and published an ‘Impact Report’, which measures the effectiveness of their funding programmes between 2007-2019, and how their various forms of funding have helped develop SMEs and shape the future of the UAE’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The 54-page report assessed how the UAE’s economy and GDP were impacted, how the SME sector performed financially, and how many jobs were created directly as a result of loans from Khalifa Fund.

The report used six key indicators to gauge the level of impact the various forms of funding provided, including: enterprise creation, job creation, financial and economic analysis, internationalisation and perceived operational impact. The indictors showed Khalifa Fund’s funding resulted in: the creation of 15,000 jobs in the UAE market, 1,800 of which for Emiratis; 1,168 activated loans, with an accumulative sum of AED 1.32 billion; 152 projects that export to international markets; the establishment of 6% of the Emirati SMEs; and an overall ROI of 15.5%. 

Mouza Al Nasri, Acting CEO of Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, stated: “The Impact Report provides nuanced insight into the details of Khalifa Fund’s long-term commitment towards being the primary source of financial support for SMEs in the UAE".

"Khalifa Fund’s loans to the SME sector has resulted in major positive implications for the national economy, with SMEs being essential to the composition of the UAE’s economic landscape; making up 98% of businesses in the country, providing 29% of the national GDP, and 44% of the non-oil economy. We have seen an abundance of success in our Emirate-wide, nationwide and globally funded projects, in terms of monetary success, economic growth and job creation for Emirati’s and expats alike.”

She added: “The efforts of Khalifa Fund will have a long-lasting impact, reflected in the ongoing success of our SMEs. We take pride in diligently offering strategically developed, tailor-made loans to our diverse and rich talent pool of UAE entrepreneurs, and we will continue to remain dedicated to making the UAE amongst the world’s most attractive hubs for entrepreneurial growth.”

Khalifa Fund began its funding programmes in 2007 with the establishment of ‘Khutwa’, ‘Bedaya’, ‘Zeyada’, Tasneea’ and ‘Al Hassilah’. In addition to their microcredit programmes, Khalifa Fund continue to provide UAE SMEs with non-monetary support, such as: capability building, training workshops, empowerment initiatives, business plan development, supporting SMEs during the implementation and set-up phase, and operational assistance. 

You can find the full Impact Report here.