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The Sharjah Foundation to Support Pioneering Entrepreneurs, known as RUWAD, granted direct funding to three new projects during the third meeting of its Project Finance Committee for 2026, which convened at the headquarters of the Sharjah Economic Development Department. Chaired by Hamad Al Mahmoud, the committee examined the balance of approved project funding for the year along with a summary of decisions taken through both direct support and indirect bank partnerships before advancing the latest approvals. Hamda Al Hammadi presented the proposed ventures to members, who assessed their alignment with broader goals of backing national entrepreneurs. The session on July 27 built directly on prior committee work that has steadily expanded the foundation’s reach within the emirate’s business community.
The newly funded initiatives consist of an industrial project that will receive Dhs400,000, a professional-sector undertaking specialising in the issuance of quality, evaluation and standards certificates allocated Dhs177,000, and a collaborative hospitality venture involving five entrepreneurs that was awarded Dhs1 million. All three approvals took the form of direct financing from RUWAD rather than bank-mediated facilities. These commitments bring the cumulative support extended by the foundation in 2026 to seven projects valued at Dhs3.2 million overall, WAM reported. Earlier in January the same committee had approved two projects worth Dhs800,000.
In 2025 RUWAD backed 21 projects with a total of Dhs6 million, continuing a pattern of regular funding rounds that have included an October committee decision to support three ventures for Dhs1.8 million. The foundation’s financing programme aims to assist entrepreneurs and national projects as a means of expanding small and medium-sized enterprise activity across Sharjah, its official website states. RUWAD functions as an arm of the Sharjah Economic Development Department, focusing on economic diversification through targeted financial solutions for viable business ideas.
Hamad Al Mahmoud stated, “The new approvals reflect Ruwad’s commitment to empowering Emirati entrepreneurs and enhancing their role in supporting comprehensive economic development in the emirate by providing suitable financial solutions that sustain and expand their projects locally and internationally.” The chairman commended both the committee members and the RUWAD team for their contributions to entrepreneur support. He emphasised the value of sustained cooperation to realise the vision set by Sharjah’s leadership for a competitive business environment.
Small and medium-sized enterprises represent no less than 94 percent of all companies operating in the UAE and employ more than 85 percent of the private sector labour force, according to a Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government assessment. The same study places SME contribution to national GDP at 60 percent, figures that highlight the strategic importance of institutions such as RUWAD in fostering startup growth and resilience. Separate data from Sharjah24 indicate that RUWAD member projects secured Dhs3.3 million in government contracts during the first half of 2026, illustrating the foundation’s role in bridging entrepreneurs with public-sector opportunities.
Comparable funding decisions have marked RUWAD’s calendar in previous cycles, including a March 2025 approval for four projects worth Dhs720,000 and a July 2025 package that reached Dhs1.55 million, earlier WAM dispatches show. The foundation has additionally rolled out support packages for businesses affected by extreme weather in past years, maintaining a consistent focus on practical assistance. These cumulative measures have helped position Sharjah’s entrepreneurial ecosystem as an active contributor to the emirate’s non-oil economic expansion.
