ZonesCorp, a Abu Dhabi government-backed agency, said it has signed an agreement with Khalifa Fund (KFED) to accelerate the establishment and growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Abu Dhabi.

ZonesCorp is directly responsible for the establishment, management and operation of specialised economic zones in Abu Dhabi.

The principle aim of the agreement is to integrate and streamline the application process for SMEs, supported by KFED, to obtain land in ZonesCorp’s economic zones and ensure swift approval and implementation of projects.

Products manufactured within ZonesCorp’s economic zones enjoy duty-free access to the Gulf countries and signatory countries to the Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement (GAFTA).

SMEs will also benefit from duty-free import of machinery and raw materials, free repatriation of profit and capital, a skilled labour force, competitively-priced utilities and sophisticated industrial and business infrastructure, said a ZonesCorp statement.
 
As part of the agreement ZonesCorp and KFED will work closely to identify attractive potential industry sectors and viable business ideas which can be implemented by the SMEs.

Accordingly, the two agencies intend to jointly organize seminars on sustainable business, health and safety and environmental training that will help to build and develop the capabilities of SMEs.

In parallel, ZonesCorp and KFED will provide further support by combining marketing and promotion efforts that highlight the new business ventures that have been established within the zones.                                            

ZonesCorp currently operates and manages 5 industrial cities in the Mussafah district. Each zone has been strategically designed to cluster specialised industrial sectors in a complementary manner in order to exploit Industrial synergies.

The sectors within ZonesCorp’s industrial cities include manufacturing, assembly engineering and processing industries for wood, chemicals, plastics and fibre glass, construction materials, oil and gas, food and textiles.     

Mohamed Hasan Al Qamzi, CEO of ZonesCorp, said the agreement is in line with ZonesCorp's mission in fostering growth for the industrial sector and the local economy.

'We strongly believe that this cooperation with Khalifa Fund will bring considerable additional benefits to Emiratis looking at playing a pivotal role in achieving the Government of Abu Dhabi Vision 2030,' he remarked.

Dr Ahmed Al Mutawa, CEO of Khalifa Fund dubbed the agreement as another milestone in KFED’s continuous efforts to provide the incentives and infrastructure to support growing SMEs in Abu Dhabi.

'We are expecting that our cooperation with ZonesCorp will lead to further diversification of SMEs in the industrial sector and local economies in the emirate,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service