Emirates Development Bank (EDB) and Zoho have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote the growth of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE.
The agreement between EDB and Zoho aims to benefit EDB clients with cost-competitive enterprise solutions to help them achieve successful digital transformation and realise the full potential of their businesses.
This partnership is in line with EDB’s strategy to expand financial and non-financial support to SMEs in the UAE. As part of the agreement, Zoho One, an all-inclusive suite of 45+ applications that seamlessly connects diverse business functions (sales, marketing, customer support, finance, HR, and collaboration), will be made available to EDB’s SME clients at discounted rates.
With this partnership, existing EDB customers will be provided Zoho Wallet credits worth $900 to purchase Zoho One, while new EDB customers can avail the solution for $1800, subject to fulfillment of the stipulated terms and conditions.
The MoU coincides with EDB’s renewed strategy focused on being the financial catalyst of the UAE economy. EDB’s mission is to the UAE’s economic diversification agenda by enabling individuals, entrepreneurs, SMEs and large corporates in priority industrial sectors and promoting innovative technologies to build a knowledge-based economy. The bank is expected to help SMEs boost their contribution to the UAE’s non-oil GDP to more than 70 per cent by the end of 2021.
EDB’s customers can gain access to Zoho One’s multi-app platform, which will enable businesses to shift online, manage and automate complex processes, and boost productivity. Because all applications are built on the same technology stack and supported by a common data model, they contextually integrate with one another, allowing business owners to transcend departmental silos and convert their entire business administration process into one unified system that runs smoothly with minimal supervision.
Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, Chief Executive Officer of EDB, said: “Emirates Development Bank is poised to play a transformative role in the furthering the industrialization of the UAE economy and will be a key player to serve the financial needs of different critical sectors of the economy. Technology will be the bedrock of realising this aspiration. This agreement will help elevate EDB’s offerings to our intended customer segments as part of our mandate to drive the development priorities of the fast-changing UAE economy.”
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Emirates Development Bank to support local businesses in their digital transformation journey. SMEs constitute more than 90 per cent of the UAE’s business sector today, making them instrumental in local economic growth and development. With the right tools and technology at their disposal, these SMEs can scale digitally, expand into wider markets, and contribute better to national prosperity. And a partnership with an industry leader like EDB will enable us to extensively help hundreds of businesses avail easy access to cost-efficient enterprise solutions and unlock new growth levels through business automation, integration, and intelligence benefits,” said Ali Shabdar, Regional Director of MEA, Zoho.
