UAE Launches Dh1 Billion National Fund to Strengthen Industrial Resilience and Localise Vital Sectors in 2026

The UAE has taken one of its most consequential steps yet in building a self-sufficient, technology-driven industrial economy. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has approved the establishment of a Dh1 billion national fund dedicated to industrial resilience, alongside a comprehensive package of initiatives designed to localise critical industries, secure supply chains, and embed artificial intelligence across production, operations, and strategic planning.

The announcement signals a clear escalation in the UAE's industrial ambitions, moving beyond policy intent into funded, structured action at national scale.

THE UAE Launches Dh1 Billion National Fund: What that Means

The national fund is not a general economic stimulus mechanism. It is a targeted instrument built around four specific objectives that collectively define the UAE's industrial resilience agenda.

The first is the localisation of vital industries, with a particular focus on sectors tied to national priorities including food security and essential manufacturing. The UAE has long recognised the strategic vulnerability that comes with dependence on imported critical goods, and with the UAE Launches Dh1 Billion National Fund, this represents a direct investment in reducing that exposure.

The second objective is supply chain resilience. By building strategic reserves of key industrial goods and strengthening value chains across priority sectors, the fund aims to ensure that disruptions in global logistics, geopolitical tensions, or commodity price shocks have a reduced impact on the UAE's domestic industrial capacity.

The third objective is the expansion of local production capacity, enabling national manufacturers to scale output, meet domestic demand more consistently, and integrate more effectively into regional and global supply chains.

The fourth, and arguably the most forward-looking, is the acceleration of artificial intelligence adoption across industrial operations. AI will be deployed to support predictive analytics, risk management, and operational efficiency, equipping industrial entities with the tools to anticipate and respond to shifting economic and geopolitical conditions in real time rather than retrospectively.

Bringing UAE-Made Products to Every Shelf and Screen

Alongside the fund, Sheikh Mohammed approved a dedicated policy to increase the presence of UAE-manufactured products across both physical retail outlets and e-commerce platforms. The policy is designed to close the loop between expanded local production capacity and consistent consumer demand, ensuring that national factories have access to the market scale required to sustain and grow their operations.

The first phase of implementation focuses on essential products with proven local production capability, including bottled water, dairy products, eggs, fresh and chilled poultry, bread, flour, locally packaged vegetable oils, and seasonal vegetables. Implementation will be coordinated across relevant government entities, private sector partners, major retailers, and digital platforms, with dedicated shelf and screen space allocated to Made-in-UAE products in line with defined standards.

The initiative serves a dual purpose. It stabilises local markets by creating consistent demand signals for domestic producers, and it builds consumer awareness of and confidence in UAE-manufactured goods, a cultural shift that supports the long-term competitiveness of the national industrial sector.

The National In-Country Value Programme Goes Mandatory

In a move that will have direct implications for every federal government entity and national company in the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed also approved the expansion of the National In-Country Value Programme, making participation mandatory across the public sector.

The programme is designed to drive local procurement at institutional scale, creating a guaranteed demand base for UAE-manufactured goods and services across government operations. Its expansion reflects a recognition that policy alone is insufficient to drive industrial localisation at the pace the UAE's ambitions require. Mandatory procurement frameworks create structural demand that private sector incentives cannot replicate.

The expanded programme is expected to support the UAE's target of fully localising more than 5,000 vital products, a goal that requires coordinated action across government purchasing, private sector supply chains, and industrial investment simultaneously.

Make It in the Emirates 2026 Takes Centre Stage

The industrial momentum represented by the fund and associated measures will find its most visible expression at the fifth edition of the Make it in the Emirates platform, scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi next month. The event is expected to draw more than 120,000 visitors, including investors, manufacturers, policymakers, and global industry leaders, making it one of the most significant industrial gatherings in the region.

Over 1,000 exhibitors representing 12 industrial sectors will participate, with small and medium-sized enterprises accounting for approximately 61% of participants, reflecting the UAE's recognition that industrial resilience is built as much from the bottom up as from the top down.

The platform will introduce several landmark initiatives, including a national quality infrastructure platform designed to enhance the competitiveness of UAE products and support their readiness for global markets through AI-enabled solutions. New procurement opportunities to localise additional strategic products will also be announced, while a dedicated startup centre will connect emerging industrial ventures with investors using advanced technologies.

Among the most symbolic additions to the programme is the launch of the House of Industry,

a national museum documenting the evolution of the UAE's industrial sector and highlighting the role of innovation and technology in shaping its future. It is a statement of institutional pride and historical awareness from a country that understands where it has come from and is deliberate about where it is going.

A National Industrial Data Committee to Power the Strategy

Underpinning the entire industrial package is a governance layer that will determine whether its ambitions translate into measurable outcomes. The Cabinet approved the establishment of a National Industrial Data Committee, chaired by Hasan Jassim Al Nowais, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, with representatives from relevant federal and local entities.

The committee's mandate is to identify priority industrial data, accelerate its availability, strengthen integration with national systems, address data challenges, and ensure real-time access to industrial intelligence across the ecosystem. Where legislative updates are required to enable this data infrastructure, the committee is empowered to propose them.

This data governance layer is not peripheral to the industrial strategy. It is foundational to it. AI-driven manufacturing, predictive supply chain management, and evidence-based industrial policy all depend on the availability of accurate, integrated, real-time data. The committee ensures that infrastructure is built with the same level of deliberate planning as the physical and financial investments it will support.

The Bigger Strategic Picture

Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, framed the package within the UAE's broader industrial vision: "These decisions reflect the leadership's vision to advance a more resilient and sustainable national industrial model, built on the localisation of critical industries, the strengthening of supply chains, and directing demand towards national products. They also support the accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence across production and planning processes, enhancing the competitiveness of the industrial sector and reinforcing its contribution to economic growth."

Sheikh Mohammed added that the UAE continues to move forward with confidence in strengthening its position as a global economic and industrial hub, supported by forward-looking policies and strategic investments in the industrial sector.

For businesses operating in the UAE's manufacturing, logistics, technology, and supply chain sectors, the implications of this package are immediate and significant. A Dh1 billion fund, mandatory government procurement alignment, a major industrial platform, and a national data governance framework represent a coordinated intervention in the industrial economy at a scale that will reshape competitive dynamics across multiple sectors.

The UAE is not waiting for global conditions to improve before investing in its industrial future. It is building the foundations of that future now, deliberately, at pace, and with the institutional resources to follow through.