Ras Al Khaimah-based leading financial institution National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKBANK) has entered into a partnership with the UAE Federal export credit agency, Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI) to enhance financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) through the UAE Trade Finance Gateway.
The UAE Trade Finance Gateway, launched as part of the UAE’s Golden Jubilee, is a digitized platform that helps exporters and re-exporters based in the country to obtain finance easily and expand their businesses globally.
Led by ECI and backed by the UAE Ministry of Economy, the gateway is a receivables financing marketplace that addresses the shortage or restricted availability of trade finance solutions for SMEs, by simplifying the complex, confusing and time-consuming processes.
Dhiraj Kunwar MD – Business Banking RAKBANK
“We are committed to supporting the UAE’s vision for a sustainable economy to boost the nation’s position as a global business hub. We are confident that a financing marketplace backed by ECI’s strong insurance coverage will help RAKBANK business banking customers, especially exporters, benefit from a seamless end-to-end digitized process.”
The UAE Trade Finance Gateway aims to offer a smooth relationship between buyers, sellers, the lending bank and ECI in an end-to-end digitized process. Through this scheme, the federal government’s trade credit insurance coverage will enable businesses to obtain secured loans from RAKBANK, powered by Crediti Fintech’s platform, MoniMove.
“This unique platform, developed to reinforce the country’s non‐oil export sector, brings together all the stakeholders in a unified platform making it easier for businesses to gain access to trade finance. We are pleased to join hands with RAKBANK and Crediti Fintech as part of our goal to enhance the global competitiveness of the UAE business community in line with the country’s vision for the next 50 years,” said Mr. Massimo Falcioni, CEO of ECI.
Mr. Hashim Al Hussaini, CEO of Crediti and Co-Founder of MoniMove, remarked that “There are several hurdles that businesses encounter in their quest to succeed in the global marketplace. They need to be protected with adequate trade credit insurance, and the UAE Trade Finance Gateway is a testament to the UAE government’s foresightedness to achieve this.”
ECI has been developing a strong network of banks to support this initiative. RAKBANK is the third commercial lender to join this initiative, after First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Emirates NBD.
