Dubai CommerCity, the first e-commerce free zone in the region, has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mashreq, a prominent financial institution in the UAE. The MoU aims to offer Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with the ideal ecosystem for setting up their e-commerce business, through providing them with access to Application Programming Interfaces (API) integration and banking services through Mashreq’s exclusively digital business banking platform, NEOBiz.
As part of the MoU, e-commerce businesses will be able to utilise Mashreq's NEOBiz platform, enabling them to open bank accounts in a rapid and efficient manner, as well as receive assistance from Mashreq’s dedicated team of experts. The MoU will also provide e-commerce businesses and SMEs with discounted access to accounting packages, cloud infrastructure, digital tools and a suite of mobile point-of-sale solutions, payment gateways and software systems such as ZohoBooks, Microsoft Office and AWS, to scale their business and propel its growth.
DeVere Forster, Chief Operating Officer at Dubai CommerCity, said: “We are proud to be signing a strategic MoU with Mashreq, who will be providing e-commerce businesses at Dubai CommerCity with access to their advanced digital banking platform, facilitating the process of setting up their business."
Vikas Thapar, Head of Business Banking and NEOBiz at Mashreq Bank, said: “As part of our strategic partnership, Mashreq will provide Dubai CommerCity’s SMEs and e-commerce start-ups with a robust portfolio of banking and financial solutions, allowing them to focus on kick-starting and scaling up their businesses.”
About Mashreq and Dubai CommerCity
One of the UAE’s best performing banks for five decades, Mashreq provides various services including retail banking, asset management, and investment banking. Mashreq has five subsidiaries, including Mashreq Neo, Mashreq NEOBiz, Mashreq Al Islami, Mashreq Capital, and Mashreq Securities.
Dubai CommerCity is the first free zone dedicated exclusively to e-commerce. With an area covering 2.1 million square feet and an investment of around $1 billion, it is uniquely designed to support new and existing e-commerce businesses across the MENA region. Dubai CommerCity includes state-of-the-art offices, as well as warehousing and last-mile delivery services. With its world-class infrastructure, the free zone provides flexible office sizes and scalable fulfilment centres, which offer various dedicated solutions for e-commerce businesses.
