Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 5 May 2026: 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 Program (NCP) — a trilateral initiative with the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MOIAT) and the Ministry of Economy (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.

National Champions Program

The National Champions Program was officially unveiled by H.E. Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports and Chairman of Emirates Growth Fund; H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; and H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy.

To mark the occasion, EGF convened a high-level Manufacturing Roundtable bringing together H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, 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 Program 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.

H.E. Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports and Chairman of Emirates Growth Fund, said: "EGF's first year has been one of full execution — capital deployed across national priority sectors, partnerships forged at the highest levels of government and industry, and a platform built that is now ready to scale. We are moving at full speed to support UAE SMEs, and the National Champions Program is the next gear. It gives our most capable manufacturers a defined pathway to grow, compete globally, and become the enterprises that will anchor the UAE's industrial future. We are just getting started."

H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said: "The National Champions Program is a defining step in translating the UAE's industrial ambition into reality. By bringing together policy, capital, and market access under a single national platform, we are creating the conditions for UAE manufacturers to compete and win on a global stage. This is how we build the industrial economy of the future — through coordinated, long-term commitment."

H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, said: "The National Champions Program reflects the UAE's determination to build globally competitive industrial businesses from within our own national economy. By enabling high-potential SMEs to scale, we are accelerating diversification, deepening industrial resilience, and reinforcing the UAE's emergence as a premier manufacturing hub for the region and beyond."

Industrial Resilience Agreement — EGF x MOIAT x ADNOC

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) program. 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.

One Year of EGF

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.