Emirates NBD, Dubai SME to boost ‘water sustainability’

DUBAI / WAM

Emirates National Bank of Dubai (Emirates NBD) announced it would cooperate with Dubai SME to provide four-year, interest-free payments for buyers of revolutionary machines which literally convert air into water. The deal between Emirates NBD and Dubai-based Sky River was signed at Gulfood 2017, the world’s largest annual food event running at Dubai World Trade Centre until Thursday night.
Emirates NBD said the buyer-plan backing is aimed at supporting the UAE’s SME community, particularly those engaged with socially-conscious concerns. “As a business bank, when someone in the local community has a venture such as this, we feel it is our duty to support them and help them grow their business,” said Hussam Al Hashimi, Executive Vice President and Head of Priority Banking and Business Banking. At Gulfood 2017, the largest in the show’s 22-event history, Sky River has launched its futuristic, game-changing water coolers that capture the air around it before filtering and cooling it into the purest form of drinking water.
With global water shortages well-documented, Sky River CEO, Faheema Mohamed, believes her company has the technology, the will and the way to tackle the issue.
“We have been looking at all kinds of alternatives to tackling the issue of water shortages. This technology has been around in some form for 5,000 years so it got us thinking ‘let’s bring it to this region’,” Mohammed said.