According to the International Finance Corp, SMEs in the UAE represent 90 per cent of total businesses. As a total percentage of GDP, the estimates for rich Mena countries are at approximately 51 per cent contribution from SMEs with employment contribution at 62 per cent. Paradoxically there is an SME credit gap in excess of US$260 billion in Mena, with only 4 per cent of outstanding loans in the UAE awarded to SMEs. This points directly to the main challenge facing SME sector growth.As the governments across the region and in the UAE in particular seek to bolster the critical SME sector, the question arises what can be done to help this sector flourish. Public sector support, such as the Khalifa Fund and Dubai SME, provides equity funding, incubation, business planning and other services to Emiratis. Private sector initiatives are predominantly private equity and venture capital firms that include Middle East Venture Partners, looking at younger companies, and Cedar Bridge, focused on SMEs in the growth phase, as well as a multitude of other firms. Legislation has recently been enacted to further develop the SME sector. What is missing is addressing the debt financing gap of 4 per cent current outstanding loans to SMEs relative to estimates of greater than 50 per cent contribution by SMEs to the economy, according to a 2012 IFC presentation.