Beehive to Distribute $8M to UAE SMEs Following EDB Grant

The Emirates Development Bank (EDB), one of the UAE’s leading institutional investors, has signed an agreement with the country’s first peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms, Beehive, allocating  just over $8 million (AED 30 million) in funding for the platform to distribute to creditworthy small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The initiative will involve Beehive facilitating loans to SMEs seeking expansion or to increase working capital, as the entities work to increase funding options for the country’s SMEs

The agreement comes after the EDB pledged to lend a wider AED 30 billion over five years for businesses within five high-growth sectors: manufacturing, healthcare, infrastructure, food security, and technology. The EDB strategy aims to help SMEs grow in order to boost their overall contribution to the UAE’s critical non-oil GDP to over 70 percent by the end of 2021.

Commenting on the partnership, EDB’s CEO Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi announced that “the collaboration with Beehive is part of our mission to bridge the funding gap by offering SMEs greater and easier access to financial sources. Through our combined efforts, we look forward to strengthening the SME ecosystem and supporting the UAE’s goals to build a robust knowledge-based economy.”

The Beehive platform uses crowdfunding technology to link SMEs seeking financing with investors willing to fulfill their financial requests, in return for attractive returns. Beehive’s dynamic business model includes both retail and institutional investors, and it harnesses the power of both to increase liquidity and streamline funding for its businesses.

To apply for loans, SMEs are invited to visit https://business.beehive.ae/UAEAccount/Register.