Abu Dhabi [UAE], May 7: One year after its launch at Make it in the Emirates 2025, Emirates Growth Fund (EGF) returned to MIITE 2026 to mark its first anniversary with two landmark announcements: the launch of the National Champions Programme (NCP) - a trilateral initiative with the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MOIAT) and the Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MOET) to systematically scale the UAE's most capable industrial SMEs - and the signing of a strategic industrial resilience agreement with MOIAT and ADNOC to strengthen domestic supply chains and accelerate the localisation of critical industrial capabilities.
Both announcements mark a defining moment in EGF's first year - capital deployed across national priority sectors, programs launched, and a national platform now in place to identify, scale, and integrate the UAE's most capable industrial businesses.
The National Champions Programme was officially unveiled by Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports and Chairman of Emirates Growth Fund, and Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy & Tourism.
To mark the occasion, EGF convened a high-level Manufacturing Roundtable bringing together Bin Touq, and the CEOs of leading UAE manufacturers, including Borouge and Rawabi, uniting policymakers, investors, and industrial operators in a single forum to align on the UAE's manufacturing growth agenda.
The National Champions Programme brings together policy alignment through MoIAT, market enablement through MOET, and growth equity capital through EGF - creating a unified platform to accelerate SME growth, expand market access, and anchor the UAE's position as a hub for advanced manufacturing. The National Champions Program is open to UAE-based manufacturing SMEs in priority sectors. Further details on eligibility and the application process will be announced in due course.
Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said, "The UAE is building an ambitious industrial model based on enablement, partnership, and turning national potential into sustainable production. The Ruwad Al Watan Programme embodies that approach by helping high-potential manufacturers to grow, integrate into national value chains, and contribute to a more resilient and competitive industrial base in line with the National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology and Make it in the Emirates."
Bin Touq said, "The National Champions Programme reflects the UAE's resolve to build globally competitive industrial businesses from within the country. By enabling high-potential SMEs to scale, we are accelerating diversification, deepening industrial resilience, and reinforcing the UAE's emergence as a premier economic and manufacturing hub regionally and globally."
Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi said, "In its first year, EGF has focused on building the foundations of a more integrated industrial ecosystem, where capital, policy and market access work together to enable companies to scale with strength and discipline. The launch of initiatives such as NCP marks the next phase of our journey. It represents a more structured and coordinated approach to scaling high-potential UAE manufacturers. And as we enter the second year, our focus remains clear to support the development of globally competitive enterprises that are built to endure, contribute to national capability, and play a defining role in shaping the UAE's industrial future."
In a separate signing at MIITE 2026, EGF entered into a strategic industrial resilience agreement with MOIAT and ADNOC under ADNOC's In-Country Value (ICV) programme. The agreement aligns EGF's investment activity with national supply chain priorities - enabling local industrial suppliers to scale, integrate into ADNOC's supply chain, and contribute to the localisation of critical industrial capabilities across the UAE.
In its first year, EGF has deployed capital into high-potential UAE SMEs across national priority sectors - including CarniStore, scaling the UAE's premium protein supply chain, and Tarmeem, strengthening domestic healthcare infrastructure - forging strategic partnerships across government and industry, and laying the foundations of a connected industrial ecosystem. MIITE 2026 marks not only the Fund's anniversary but the moment its platform becomes fully operational: capital at work, programs launched, and a national coalition assembled to drive the UAE's industrial transformation.
EGF participates at MIITE 2026 as Exclusive Growth Capital Partner - reinforcing its position as the UAE's flagship growth equity investor, connecting policy, capital, and industry to drive sustainable, long-term industrial growth.
Now in its fifth year, MIITE 2026 - taking place 4-7 May at ADNEC, Abu Dhabi - is the UAE's flagship platform for national industrial transformation, bringing together advanced technology, policy, and industry to strengthen local manufacturing, deepen value chains, and empower companies to build, scale, and export from the UAE.
Source: Emirates News Agency
