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9/22/25, 2:50 PM Ministry Of Economy & Tourism Announces Details Of ‘The Emirates: The Startup Capital Of The World’ National Campaign | Pakist…
He also pointed out that SMEs, which make up around 95% of the UAE’s active businesses,
have contributed 63.5% of its non-oil GDP as of mid-2022, and that out of the 7 Arab companies
recently gaining ‘Unicorn’ status, 5 have launched in the UAE.

The UAE’s entrepreneurial ecosystem blends innovation, modern technology and sustainability,
making it an ideal launchpad for global entrepreneurs. The UAE offers a comprehensive
legislative and regulatory framework that helps fast-track business setup within days, thanks to
smart digital services.
The 100% foreign ownership of companies across most sectors, as well as the nation’s world-
class infrastructure, including ports, international airports and an advanced roads network,
further enhance the UAE market’s attractiveness.

At the press conference, the Ministry of Economy and Tourism outlined key initiatives under the
‘The Emirates: The Startup Capital of the World’ campaign, which include the launch of the
StartupEmirates.ae platform, which aims to attract 10,000 entrepreneurs and create
30,000 jobs within five years. The campaign will also train 10,000 Emiratis through the
Entrepreneurship Programme, and license 500 Emiratis to manage residential construction
projects under the Project Management Experts Programme.

Other initiatives include supporting 250 Emiratis in establishing national real estate companies,
licencing 500 Emirati tax agents through a three-year training programme, and launching a
national exhibition to raise early-stage entrepreneurship awareness across educational
institutions. Additionally, the campaign will see the launch of a Graduate Business Projects
Exhibition, and improve national startups involvement in and access to federal procurement
systems under the umbrella of the Ministry of Finance.

The UAE Council for Entrepreneurship held a meeting chaired by Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri. The
meeting discussed strengthening the UAE's entrepreneurial ecosystem, supporting SME growth,
and empowering citizens to create new businesses.

The meeting stressed the importance of coordinating federal and local entities with financial
institutions to empower youth through training and development, and highlighted the need
for government and institutional support for entrepreneurs in government procurement.

The meeting reviewed ‘‘The Emirates: The Startup Capital of the World’ campaign, which aims
to attract and train entrepreneurs in five years, providing infrastructure, boosting their
contribution to non-oil GDP, and empowering Emirati youth to launch globally competitive
projects.

Finally, the meeting addressed enhancing national economic competitiveness by supporting
SMEs and fostering public-private-academic partnerships to bolster regional and global
entrepreneurship, cultivating the next generation of entrepreneurs through training, support,
funding, and legislative empowerment.

The meeting was attended by members of the UAE Council for Entrepreneurship, including:
Mariam Mohammed Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary of Government Finance Management at
the Ministry of Finance; Dr. Faisal AlAli, Acting Undersecretary for Support Services Sector of
the Ministry of Higher education and Scientific Research; Salama Al Haj Al Awadhi, Assistant
Undersecretary, Industrial Development Sector, UAE; Sara Al Habshi, Executive Director of the
Tax Compliance Sector at the Federal Tax Authority; Fatima Abdullah Al Jabri,
Assistant Governor for Financial Crime and Market Conduct at the Central Bank of the UAE;
Shakir Zeinel, Head of Banking at Emirates Development Bank; Mohamed Abdulkader, Acting

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