Page 201 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - SEPTEMBER 2024 (Part 2)

Among the meeting’s attendees were the respected board members such as H.E. Dr.
Muhadditha Yahya Al Hashimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Private Education Authority; H.E.
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;
H.E. 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.

H.E. 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.”

Her Excellency Dr. Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak, Minister of Climate Change and Environment
said: “It’s an honour to join Sheraa’s Board of Advisors and have the opportunity to contribute to
the UAE’s thriving entrepreneurship ecosystem. 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.”

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 fueling 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.

https://www.adsmehub.ae/en/explore/post-details/sheraas-newly-appointed-board