Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, Chief Executive Officer of the Emirates Development Bank [EDB], a key financial engine of the UAE’s economic diversification and industrial transformation agenda, has been named ‘Best CEO’ for Banking Transformation in the UAE for 2021 by the International Finance magazine.
The International Finance Annual Awards celebrate corporate and professional excellence and recognise individuals who have had a positive impact on the performance of their organisations by developing innovative products or services and setting benchmarks for their peers within the industry.
On this occasion, His Excellency Dr. Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and the Chairman of Emirates Development Bank said: “In line with the UAE leadership’s vision and directives, the UAE is focusing on investing in enhancing the competencies of national human capital and providing them every opportunity to acquire the necessary skillset to empower their contribution to the progress and prosperity of the UAE across all sectors
He added: “On behalf of the Emirates Development Bank’s Board of Directors and the team, I congratulate Ahmed Al Naqbi for this prestigious award, which reinforces his vital role in promoting the bank’s mandate of supporting the UAE’s economic diversification and boosting the country’s non-oil GDP.”
Commenting on the award, Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi said: “I am deeply honoured to receive the Best CEO award from the highly respected International Finance Magazine. This award is a recognition of the entire team at EDB – particularly the trust and direction of the bank’s Board of Directors. The new strategic roadmap and initiatives undertaken by us are part of our long-term vision to offer world-class products and first-class customer experience across our operations.”
“The EDB is committed to the strategic vision for the future and will build on its efforts to support SMEs, entrepreneurs, startups and the large corporates and position the UAE as a hub for emerging sectors and an incubator for future industries,” he added.
As the CEO, Al Naqbi spearheaded the operational rollout of the new EDB strategy which includes an allocation of AED 30 billion to finance over 13,500 SMEs, startups, and corporates in the priority sectors over the next decade. EDB has already lent over AED 700 million in financing to UAE-based SMEs and large caps since January 2021.
Al Naqbi also led the launch of two EDB initiatives – with a total value of AED 10 billion as part of the UAE’s ‘Projects of the 50’ campaign. The first initiative allocated AED 5 billion to support UAE National entrepreneurship and innovation. The second initiative allocated another AED 5 billion to accelerate industrial development and the adoption of advanced technology in the UAE.
Al Naqbi also played a key role in the launch of the EDB Business Banking App to support the SMEs operating within the UAE in September 2021. The App offers SMEs access to a 24×7 secure, convenient, on-the-go digital banking services. With the App, the business account IBAN is reserved in a matter of minutes, and account activation is completed in 48 hours.
