Sheraa Backs More Than 60 UAE Startups And SMEs With Its AED5 Million Entrepreneurs Resilience Fund
Sheraa CEO HE Sara Abdulaziz Al Nuaimi said that the fund is designed to help viable businesses navigate short-term pressures without compromising future growth.
The Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa), one of the UAE's leading entrepreneurship hubs, has selected more than 60 startups and SMEs from across the country to receive financial grants or in-kind support through the inaugural cycle of its AED5 million (US$1.36 million) Entrepreneurs Resilience Fund (ERF).
Launched under the directives of Sheraa Chairperson HH Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, the ERF aims to help businesses navigate operational and market pressures by offering them equity-free grants alongside tailored mentorship, strategic advisory support, and connections to industry partners as well as market opportunities.
Building on Sheraa's wider work within the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Sharjah and the UAE, the ERF is being delivered through a collaborative model that brings together a network of public and private partners, including Inc. Arabia.
In a statement, HE Sara Abdulaziz Al Nuaimi, CEO of Sheraa, said, "The ERF was established on a simple premise: viable businesses facing short-term pressures should not have to choose between preserving today's operations and investing in tomorrow's growth. Supporting these founders is about more than individual businesses. It is about strengthening the entrepreneurial base that contributes to Sharjah's economic diversification, innovation capacity, and long-term competitiveness."
More than 330 startups and SMEs from across the UAE applied for support through the ERF. Spanning sectors like food, manufacturing, healthcare, accessibility, sustainability, and consumer products, the ventures supported by the ERF so far include Little Sprouties, Hylo, Chocoleaf, RAWA Wellness, Eshara AI, The AM Lab, BookMyPet, The Waste Lab, and Ajada.
