UAE’s EDB discusses future of banking at MEA summit

ABU DHABI / WAM

Emirates Development Bank (EDB), a key financial engine for the economic development and industrial advancement of the UAE, took part in the annual MEA Finance Banking Technology Summit and Awards 2023.
The lively summit, held at the Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa, gathered top banking and finance leaders and the region’s leading technology professionals to debate the latest developments in digitisation, the newest opportunities, and emerging trends in the region’s financial markets.
Through a series of highly topical panel debates, the summit’s discussions focus on the changes technology will bring, the trends that are leading them, and the shape of the tasks ahead needed to establish future-resilient banks.
EDB’s five-year strategy, launched in April 2021, created a fresh mandate to empower SMEs and large corporates in five priority sectors: manufacturing, technology, healthcare, renewables, and food security.
The bank aims to deploy some AED30 billion in financing support to 13,500 companies within those five priority sectors by 2026.
Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, Chief Executive Officer at Emirates Development Bank, said, “As the UAE’s development bank, our mandate is to empower the country’s economic growth by financially enabling the country to chart a more sustainable path to the future. We encourage entrepreneurship and innovation by offering finance to micro, small, and medium enterprises, as well as industrial development projects. To continue playing our pivotal role in supporting overall UAE economic growth, we must keep abreast of technological and economic developments in the region and globally.”

“Attending summits such as this enables us to stay aware of the trends while helping shape the region’s banking, finance, and FinTech sectors.”
Krishna Kumar Nair, Chief Operating Officer at EDB, shared his insights on the future of banking technology at the concluding session of the event. The session titled, “What is coming and how will banking technology look at the end of the decade?” aimed to provide a glimpse into the future of the banking industry and the role of technology in shaping it. During the session, Nair emphasised the importance of embracing digital transformation to meet the evolving needs of customers and businesses.
He highlighted the need for collaboration between financial institutions, technology companies, and regulators to ensure a secure and inclusive financial landscape.