Khalifa Fund SME Programmes
Provides interest-free financing in Abu Dhabi for Emirati-owned enterprises from startup launch through expansion and scale.
Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development is a not-for-profit economic development entity of the Government of Abu Dhabi, established to support small-to-medium enterprises through interest-free loan financing. Since its founding it has disbursed more than AED 1.3 billion to over 1,200 funded SMEs and contributed to the creation of 15,000-plus jobs. Its mandate is explicitly emirate-level — covering Abu Dhabi and the Western Region — rather than federal UAE-wide, and all products are denominated in AED.
The Fund operates thirteen distinct loan products spanning microfinance (up to AED 500,000), small business loans (up to AED 2 million for manufacturing, AED 1 million for other sectors), expansion loans (up to AED 3 million for manufacturing), agri-sector sub-funds (AED 150,000–2 million), and scale-up working-capital and asset-finance facilities. Repayment terms range from 12 months for operating-capital lines to 84 months for expansion loans, with grace periods of up to 24 months. Eligibility is restricted to Emirati entrepreneurs aged 21–60 operating businesses in Abu Dhabi or the Western Region; sectors include healthcare, education, agriculture, ICT, tourism, and manufacturing. Applications are routed exclusively through the TAMM Abu Dhabi Government Services platform.
For grant-seeking organisations the key distinction is instrument: Khalifa Fund products are debt, not non-dilutive awards. The combination of interest-free terms, long repayment periods, and sector breadth makes these programmes most valuable to Emirati-owned SMEs requiring structured capital at concessional cost. Programme names on the current site (Microfinance, Small, Expansion, Scale Up, Agri) have superseded historical programme branding (Bedaya, Tomouh, Zeyada and others). Applicants should verify current product availability and ticket sizes directly on the Khalifa Fund website before applying.
Interest-free medium-term loans from the Abu Dhabi government's SME development fund, covering microfinance through expansion financing for Emirati-owned businesses across sectors including agriculture, ICT, and manufacturing.
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