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HE Alia Al Mazrouei On The UAE's Entrepreneurial Edge

The UAE Minister of State for Entrepreneurship tells Inc. Arabia why the UAE is the place to be
for entrepreneurs who want to turn their ideas into reality.
Aby Sam Thomas

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If the flurry of announcements coming from the UAE’s entrepreneurial arena of late is any
indication, then this is an ecosystem that’s certainly thriving – but its future looks set to be even
brighter.

At least, that’s what HE Alia Bint Abdulla Al Mazrouei predicts – and given the vantage point she has
in her role as the UAE Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, we at Inc. Arabia are inclined to take
her at her word.

Speaking to us at the 2025 edition of Investopia in Abu Dhabi, Al Mazrouei highlighted the UAE’s
National Agenda for Entrepreneurship as indicative of the future direction of the country’s startup
ecosystem.

“The National Agenda for Entrepreneurship is our roadmap for facilitating the UAE’s transition into a
truly entrepreneurial nation by 2031,” Al Mazrouei said. “It includes 29 initiatives aimed at
enhancing the business environment and entrepreneurial culture in the UAE, and an integrated
package of incentives that enables the country to increase the number of its startups to reach one
million, incubating 10 unicorn startups, and achieving a strong partnership between the public and
private sectors.”

The UAE has, of course, already taken concrete steps to achieve these goals over the past few
years. For instance, Al Mazrouei pointed out the country’s notable undertakings in this regard
include the NextGenFDI initiative, which, with the intention to boost foreign direct investment (FDI)
in the country, aims to attract leading tech companies from around the world to the UAE, as well as
the Future 100 initiative, which has, since 2023, been annually recognizing 100 SMEs that are
making a positive contribution to shaping the UAE’s future economy.

A more recent initiative is the UAE’s Riyada Fund, which is a government-led program that aims to
foster entrepreneurship and strengthen the country’s SME sector through financial support,
business development services, networking opportunities, and access to international markets. Al
Mazrouei revealed that the Fund has allocated incentives totaling AED300 million to encourage
university graduates to pursue entrepreneurial ventures, thereby fostering an entrepreneurial
mindset and culture across all segments of society.

Besides the Riyada Fund, Al Mazrouei also highlighted the National Program for Small and Medium
Enterprises, which was launched by the UAE Ministry of Economy with the aim of enabling Emirati
entrepreneurs and SME owners to establish and develop their businesses. The program provides
them with the necessary expertise, technical, administrative and training support, while also

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