Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center “Sheraa” has launched a new resilience fund designed to help promising startups and small and medium-sized enterprises in Sharjah navigate uncertainty and continue scaling their businesses.
Backed by a allocation of AED 5 million and supported by strategic partners from both the public and private sectors, the initiative offers fast financial and operational support to active businesses in Sharjah’s market, as well as companies within Sheraa’s portfolio, helping them overcome challenges at different stages of growth.
Flexible backing for a changing market
In today’s business environment, adaptability has become one of the defining traits of entrepreneurship. With global markets shifting, costs rising, funding cycles changing and consumer behaviour evolving rapidly, entrepreneurs in the UAE continue to build and develop ventures across healthcare, nutrition, sustainability, consumer products and technology.
Against this backdrop, Sheraa’s Entrepreneurs’ Resilience Fund is aimed at strengthening the ability of startups to remain operational, respond to market pressures and pursue new opportunities with greater confidence.
The fund provides non-repayable grants without taking equity stakes in the companies, alongside a comprehensive programme of mentorship and advisory support. It also uses a simplified assessment mechanism to speed up funding decisions, while connecting businesses with investors, strategic partners and potential customers, and supporting access to commercial opportunities and new markets.
More than 60 companies supported
Sheraa has so far supported more than 60 companies through the Entrepreneurs’ Resilience Fund, through funding and support programmes, from among more than 330 applications received from startups and small and medium-sized enterprises across the UAE.
The strong response reflects the growing number of ambitious businesses seeking specialised financing and support tools to strengthen their growth and sustainability within an entrepreneurship ecosystem that continues to build its global standing.
The UAE has retained its position as the best environment for entrepreneurship for the fifth year in a row, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2025–2026 report. It also ranked first globally in economic performance and second worldwide in business formation, according to the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2026 published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).
These results align with national goals to increase the number of operating companies from 1.2 million to more than 2 million by 2031, and to create 30,000 jobs through entrepreneurship by 2030.
Sharjah’s role in turning strategy into impact
In Sharjah, Sheraa continues to translate these national priorities into tangible impact. Since its establishment, it has supported more than 600 startups and helped their founders raise more than AED 1.14 billion in investments.
His Excellency Sarah Al Nuaimi, Executive Director of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa), said: “The Entrepreneurs’ Resilience Fund comes from our belief that investing in the continuity of promising companies is an investment in the future of the economy. When companies are able to overcome challenges and continue growing, they strengthen innovation, drive economic activity and contribute to building a stronger and more competitive entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Partnerships that broaden the impact
The fund reflects a collaborative model across the entrepreneurship ecosystem, having been launched in partnership with a number of supporting entities from the public and private sectors, based on the belief that backing promising companies is a shared responsibility requiring coordinated efforts between institutions.
On that basis, the fund aims to help startups build institutional capacity through specialised mentoring and consulting that support them in addressing growth challenges, improving operational efficiency and making strategic decisions at different stages of development.
This approach reflects a broader shift in entrepreneurship support, moving beyond company formation towards helping businesses remain resilient, sustainable and ready to expand over the long term.
Startups responding to market needs
The companies selected for support under the fund reflect a new direction in entrepreneurship in the UAE. Rather than focusing solely on rapid growth, these businesses are developing practical solutions that respond to real market needs, from reducing food waste and improving children’s nutrition to creating AI-enabled solutions, sustainable consumer products and health-focused offerings built around local ingredients.
Among the startups selected are Little Sprouties, Shukrani/Hylo, Chocoleaf, RAWA Wellness, Eshara AI, The AM Lab, BookMyPet, The Waste Lab and Ajada. These companies represent ventures building their businesses around real-world needs while continuing to refine their solutions despite economic challenges and market changes.
The Entrepreneurs’ Resilience Fund underlines a growing effort to enable promising companies to continue operating, expand with confidence, create jobs and contribute to economic diversification, while strengthening the long-term competitiveness of Sharjah and the UAE.