Sheraa aims to drive innovation, foster a sustainable ecosystem

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa) has taken a significant new stride in advancing entrepreneurship across the region by convening its newly appointed Board of Advisers under the leadership of Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Sheraa. The first meeting of the new board served to underscore Sheraa’s mission to drive innovation, foster a sustainable ecosystem and cement Sharjah’s role as a leading regional hub for entrepreneurship.

In its ongoing mission to position Sharjah as a leading centre for innovation and entrepreneurship, Sheraa has formed a 17-member Board of Advisers composed of visionary leaders from government, industry, academia, and the entrepreneurial community.

Key figures include Abdullah Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy; Dr. Amna Al Dahak Al Shamsi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment; and Asma Bin Taliah, Secretary General of The Sharjah Executive Council. These influential leaders are joined by other distinguished members, each bringing invaluable expertise to guide Sheraa's strategic direction.

 Sheikha Bodour with members of the Board of Advisers during their first meeting.

Sheikha Bodour said: "As we embark on this next phase of growth with our new board, I’m filled with optimism for Sheraa’s future. We’re privileged to be supported by such a highly accomplished group, whose expertise, dedication, and vision will further elevate Sheraa as the most dynamic regional hub for new business founders. Together, we’ll continue to foster innovation, resilience, and sustainability within Sharjah’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, ensuring that our startups thrive and compete with the best in local and global markets.’

Among the meeting’s attendees were the respected board members such as Dr. Muhadditha Yahya Al Hashimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Private Education Authority; Ahmed Al Naqbi, CEO of Emirates Development Bank; Mohammed Khadiri - CEO, Bank of Sharjah; Dr. Saeeda Jaffar - Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager GCC at Visa; Eng. Omar Al Mahmoud - CEO of the ICT Fund; Ahmed AlKhoshaibi – Group CEO of Arada; Fahad Al Hassawi - CEO of Du; Salim Al Owais - CEO of Re.life (subsidiary of BEEAH Group); Muna Al Gurg - Vice Chairperson of Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group; Farida Elagamy - General Manager of Tharawat and Co-Founder of Kyma; Sonia Weymuller – Founding Partner of VentureSouq; Leena Khalil - CEO of Mumzworld; Imran Sayeed - Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management; and Abdullah Snobar - Executive Director of DMZ and CEO of DMZ Ventures.

Sharjah 4th in the GCC startup ecosystem rankings

Abdullah Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, said: “As we strive to position the UAE as a premier global hub for entrepreneurship by 2031, Sharjah is set to contribute significantly to the achievement of this goal thanks to its startup ecosystem’s strengths in future sectors.

The emirate’s status as a thriving entrepreneurial hub was once again underlined by the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) that ranked Sharjah 4th in the GCC, and 7th in the MENA region’s startup ecosystem rankings. The support offered by Sheraa to enterprises, including talent and capability building, mentoring, start-up incubation and wide-ranging market access, has contributed tremendously to this success.”

 Dignitaries at the event. Sheraa is the most dynamic regional hub for new business founders.

I would like to thank Her Excellency Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi for having me on onboard and commend her efforts in leading Sheraa to new heights. Innovation and entrepreneurship can help forge effective climate solutions and as an entrepreneurship platform, Sheraa can support and nurture startups that focus on environmental sustainability and climate resilience as well as raising climate awareness.

I look forward to more projects offering climate friendly solutions and addressing critical challenges such as clean energy, biodiversity loss, securing food systems, waste management among others, leading the UAE towards a sustainable future.”

Sara Al Nuaimi's presentation

The session provided a platform for discussing Sheraa's current strategic positioning and offerings, with initial feedback sought on how to advance its mission of growing Sharjah’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. The meeting included a comprehensive presentation led by Sara Al Nuaimi followed by strategic discussions.

Sharjah’s growing global appeal as a vibrant startup hub has been recently highlighted by the Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER). Their 2024 ‘top startup ecosystem’ rankings has placed Sharjah 4th in GCC and 7th in the wider MENA region.

As the major engine fuelling these achievements, Sheraa has trained and upskilled a talented community of over 18,000 entrepreneurial youth, supported a comprehensive ecosystem of over 420 startups including over 180 incubated ventures that have raised over $171 million in funding, generated over $248 million in revenue, and created well over 1,900 jobs, contributing to the UAE’s national economy. Moreover, Sheraa’s flagship event, the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival (SEF), has solidified the emirate’s reputation as a premier hub for talent, drawing over 30,000 changemakers from around the globe across its seven editions.