admin The UAE was ranked the world’s leading entrepreneurship ecosystem for the fifth consecutive year in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2025/2026 report, while the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2026 placed it first globally in Economic Performance and second in Creation of Firms
Sharjah: The ability to withstand uncertainty has become one of the defining tests of entrepreneurship. Global markets shift, costs fluctuate, funding cycles tighten, and consumer behaviour evolves rapidly. Against this broader global backdrop, founders across the UAE continue to launch, adapt, and grow businesses that are meeting the needs of the market across healthcare, food systems, sustainability, accessibility, consumer products, and technology.
Dignitaries at a Sheraa event.
It is this capacity to adapt and continue building that sits at the heart of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center’s (Sheraa) Entrepreneurs Resilience Fund (ERF). Established to provide timely support to Sharjah-based startups and SMEs navigating operational and market pressures, the Fund is mobilising up to Dhs5 million through public- and private-sector partners, combining equity-free grants with tailored programming, fast-tracked funding decisions, and hands-on advisory support.
The response to its inaugural cycle was telling. More than 330 startups and SMEs from across the UAE applied for support. Following the evaluation process, more than 60 startups and SMEs were selected to receive either financial grants or in-kind support.
Among the selected startups are Little Sprouties, Shukrani/Hylo, Chocoleaf, RAWA Wellness, Eshara AI, The AM Lab, BookMyPet, The Waste Lab, and Ajada. Collectively, they represent a generation of founders building businesses around real-world needs while navigating increasingly complex market conditions.
The Fund comes as a timely initiative exemplifying UAE’s commitment to fostering and sustaining entrepreneurship, which has earned the country global recognition. Notably, the country was ranked the world’s leading entrepreneurship ecosystem for the fifth consecutive year in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2025/2026 report, while the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2026 placed it first globally in Economic Performance and second in Creation of Firms.
Supporting these rankings is a national agenda that seeks to increase the number of active companies from 1.2 million to more than 2 million by 2031 and create 30,000 jobs through entrepreneurship by 2030.
In Sharjah, Sheraa has emerged as one of the institutions helping translate these ambitions into founder-level outcomes. Since its launch, the organisation has supported more than 600 startups and helped founders raise over Dhs1.14 billion in capital.
‘Strengthening the entrepreneurial base’
Sara Abdulaziz Al Nuaimi, CEO of Sheraa, said: “The ERF was established on a simple premise: viable businesses facing short-term pressures should not have to choose between preserving today’s operations and investing in tomorrow’s growth. Supporting these founders is about more than individual businesses. It is about strengthening the entrepreneurial base that contributes to Sharjah’s economic diversification, innovation capacity, and long-term competitiveness.”
The Fund also reflects a collaborative model for strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Developed in partnership with public- and private-sector organisations, it is built on the principle that helping promising businesses navigate periods of uncertainty requires a shared commitment across the ecosystem.
Designed for speed and flexibility, the ERF focuses on the immediate needs that often determine whether a business can continue operating and return to growth. Alongside equity-free grants, it provides tailored mentorship, strategic advisory support, and connections to partners and market opportunities, enabling founders to strengthen operational readiness, make informed decisions, and build greater resilience for the road ahead.
In doing so, the Fund represents a broader shift in how entrepreneurship ecosystems support founders. Rather than focusing solely on helping startups launch, it recognises that long-term economic impact also depends on enabling promising businesses to withstand periods of uncertainty, adapt to changing market conditions, and continue growing over time.
Purpose-driven ventures solving real-world problems
The startups selected through the ERF offer insight into how resilience is manifesting among today’s entrepreneurs. Rather than pursuing growth at any cost, many of the selected ventures are focused on solving practical challenges with clear market relevance, from reducing food waste and improving childhood nutrition to expanding accessibility through artificial intelligence, advancing wellness solutions rooted in local ingredients, and developing more sustainable consumer products.
The significance of the Fund extends beyond the selected ventures. It reflects a growing recognition that entrepreneurship is not only about launching new businesses, but about creating the conditions that allow promising ventures to endure, scale, create jobs, and contribute to the UAE’s long-term economic transformation.
