By the end of Q1-24, banks supplied AED81.7 billion in financial facilities to SMEs, according to CBUAE.

The total balance of financial facilities and loans provided by banks operating in the UAE to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was AED 81.7 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2024, according to the most recent data released by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE).

Loans to SMEs made up 9.7 percent of the total balance of financial facilities for the trade and industrial sector, which amounted to AED841.7 billion as of the end of March 2024.

The SMEs sector accounts for over 95 percent of the total number of companies in the country and employs around 86 percent of the private sector's workforce, according to the Ministry of Economy.