The Emirates Growth Fund has appointed Khalifa Al Hajeri as its new Chief Executive after the group was launched to support entrepreneurship in the UAE.
The fund, which was launched in May, is a Dh1 billion ($272.3 million) growth equity platform backed by Emirates Development Bank and focuses on strategically important sectors such as industry, food security, health care and advanced technology.
Mr Al Hajeri brings more than 15 years of global investment experience to the role, most notably with Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala, where he led growth investments, sovereign partnerships and venture capital initiatives.
Having worked across several asset classes, sectors and geographies, he will help lead the EGF into its "next phase of growth" and "drive the scaling of the UAE's SMEs into enduring contributors to a resilient economy", it said.
"We are confident that this new chapter will further establish the EGF as an essential partner in our economic diversification journey and reinforce the UAE's position as a global hub for innovation and growth," said Dr Ahmad Al Falasi, Minister of Sports and chairman of the EGF.
The EGF, launched during this year's Make it in the Emirates conference, aims to bridge the country's growth capital gap and advance national industrial and economic diversification goals in line with Operation 300bn.
The fund will invest between Dh10 million and Dh50 million in home-grown SMEs that generate revenue of more than Dh10 million, taking minority stakes as it believes "our role is to empower and not to control", EGF vice chairwoman and managing director Najla Al Midfa said at the time.
The EGF will eventually exit from the investments through a strategic acquisition or a stake sale rather than an initial public offering, given the size of the companies, she added. "We are confident the EGF will propel the next generation of national champions to greater heights, strengthening the UAE’s economy," she said in Monday's statement.
SMEs account for 94 per cent of all registered companies in the UAE, employ more than 86 per cent of all private sector jobs and also contribute more than 60 per cent to non-oil gross domestic product, the latest official data has shown.
