BlackRock Inc. is collaborating with Emirates NBD, a prominent Dubai-based lender, to launch a new platform aimed at providing Middle Eastern investors with enhanced access to rapidly growing private markets. This initiative is expected to significantly benefit wealth clients of Emirates NBD by offering them opportunities in private credit and alternative assets.

The new product will leverage BlackRock’s Alternative Investments platform, which currently manages over $450 billion in assets. Initially, the firms plan to introduce a variety of evergreen offerings that provide investors with greater flexibility compared to traditional closed-end funds, focusing on income and growth strategies specifically within the United Arab Emirates.

As international players increasingly enter the private credit sector in the Middle East, they are forming partnerships with regional wealth funds, including Mubadala Investment Co., the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, ADQ, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Notably, private credit has emerged as Mubadala’s best-performing asset class for three consecutive years, according to statements made by its deputy chief executive officer in January.