Abu Dhabi invests AED 1 billion in ‘Channel Partners’ programme to enhance industrial investment ecosystem

The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) has announced the launch of ‘Abu Dhabi Channel Partners’ programme to further enhance the industrial investment ecosystem, by providing detailed guides of investment opportunities, supported by customised incentives packages to address the needs of key players and investors.

The ‘Abu Dhabi Channel Partners’ programme supports ADDED efforts to promote Abu Dhabi as a competitive industrial hub and an attractive investment destination for international and local investors. The ‘Abu Dhabi Channel Partners’, launched by ADDED’s Industrial Development Bureau (IDB), aims to increase the emirate’s global competitiveness, attract new foreign and domestic direct investments (FDIs and DDIs), facilitate transfer of technology, knowledge, and expertise, and increase the industrial sector’s contribution to Abu Dhabi’s non-oil GDP.

The programme has identified a set of industrial investment opportunities in the 7 manufacturing subsectors targeted by the Abu Dhabi Industrial Strategy (ADIS), which are food processing, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, electrical, electronics, machineries and equipment, and transportation. 

To ensure a favourable and enabling industrial investment environment, the Abu Dhabi Channel Partners’ tailored incentives packages will offer wide range of offerings and incentives to address the needs of key players and investors. 

His Excellency Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED), said: “The stellar growth of the industrial sector in Abu Dhabi is poised to continue and flourish as part of the emirate’s concerted efforts towards achieving a comprehensive socio-economic development. Guided by our leadership’s unwavering commitment, we continue to develop and roll-out initiatives and incentive programmes of our industrial strategy.

“We are investing AED1 billion in the ‘Abu Dhabi Channel Partners’ as part of initiatives and programmes to improve the value chain of the industrial sector, attracting quality industrial investments in subsectors identified by the Abu Dhabi industrial strategy as priorities to spur growth and meet our strategic objectives”. 

H.E. adds: “We are in continuous conversations with key partners and stakeholders to increase access to financing and enhance ease of doing business, and further enhance Abu Dhabi’s global competitiveness and attractiveness as we are cementing the emirate’s position as the preferred destination for investment, business, and talent”. 

To attract global manufacturers with capabilities to add value to Abu Dhabi’s Industrial sector, IDB will work closely with sectors champions and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and its international network, which provides companies with access to Abu Dhabi’s innovation ecosystem, public landbank, and major infrastructure projects.

The first batch of the programme was announced to incentivise investors in the food processing industries. IDB have identified 20 investment opportunities in the food processing sector in Abu Dhabi with a combined market size of about AED 29.4 billion (USD 8 Billion) by 2027. The detailed guide highlights Abu Dhabi’s unique value propositions, and growth opportunities in this vital industry, in the light of growing focus to increase local manufactured food supplies to meet the rising demand and achieve food security strategy’s objectives.

Abu Dhabi provides ample opportunities for investors in food processing sector including business-friendly ecosystem, agile policies, robust infrastructure, strong supply chain, government support and incentives, access to funding, advanced trade facilitation solutions, connectivity to international markets, and incentives to increase non-oil exports.

The ‘Abu Dhabi Channel Partners’ was announced at the sidelines of ‘Make it in the Emirates’ Forum, the premier event bringing together government entities, national and international industrial powerhouses, financial institutions, SMEs, and investors to explore investment opportunities and boost local content. The event is co-hosted by ADDED, the catalyst for economic growth in the emirate, as part of its efforts to strengthen Abu Dhabi position as the region’s most competitive industrial hub, towards a diversified, smart, and sustainable economy.

The ‘Abu Dhabi Channel Partners’ is part of initiatives devised by ADDED’s Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) to develop the industrial sector’s value chain which is one of the ADIS transformational programmes to strengthen the emirate’s position as the region’s most competitive industrial hub. 

To this end, Abu Dhabi is investing AED10 billion in six programmes including Industry 4.0, Circular Economy, Talent Development, Ecosystem Enablement, Homegrown Supply Chain, and Value Chain Development to more than double the size of its manufacturing sector to AED172 billion, create 13,600 skilled jobs and increase the emirate’s non-oil exports to AED 178.8 billion by 2031.

The Abu Dhabi Channel Partners one of Abu Dhabi Industrial Strategy’s initiatives that are being launched by ADDED to deliver the industrial strategy’s ambitious objectives, including land incentives, preferential rates for gas and electricity, talent development programme to meet the increasing demand for knowledge-based jobs, special schemes to provide financial and non-financial support to SMEs to transition to Industry 4.0. and a world-class competence centre to facilitate transition to smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0.

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