Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (KFED) said the number of projects funded by the UAE-based group rose to 1,364  last year, of which around 27 per cent were industrial projects.

Since its establishment in 2007, the fund has been providing financial and moral support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). Till date, the total value of funding approved by KFED has surged to over Dh1.6 billion ($435.5 million), reported state news agency Wam, citing a top official.

CEO Abdullah Saeed Al Darmaki said the fund has helped 1,407 projects to benefit from its membership programme, as well as from its integrated services that include loans.

It aims to develop SMEs, in light of its belief in their importance to the country's growing economy, in terms of promoting diversity, providing job opportunities, contributing to GDP, and raising competitiveness, he stated.

According to him, the fund is supporting projects in agriculture, programming, commercial works, artificial intelligence (AI) innovation, consumer products and other sectors.

These projects funded by KFED are distributed around the UAE, with Abu Dhabi having the largest share, said Al Darmaki.

"KFED has prioritised economic diversity, by supporting projects from various sectors in many countries while highlighting the fund's belief in the importance of promoting the social and economic development of SMEs in the northern regions," he added.