Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa)

Vice Chairperson 

Emirates Growth Fund (EGF)

Vice Chairman and Managing Director

Sharjah Education Academy

Board Member

Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTI Park)

Dana Gas

Emirates Development Bank (EDB)

United Arab Bank

Friends of Cancer Patients

Eisenhower Fellowships

Eisenhower Fellow

The Aspen Institute

Fellow, Middle East Leadership Initiative

I believe in the transformative power of entrepreneurship and innovation, and I focus on building platforms that empower people and businesses to thrive in the new economy.

As the Founding CEO, and now Vice-Chairperson of Sheraa, I helped establish one of the UAE’s leading early-stage startup incubators, supporting entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds on their journey from idea to market.

To date, Sheraa has incubated over 200 ventures that have raised over $270 million in investment and created thousands of jobs—building an inclusive foundation for growth.

Our Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival, launched in 2017, is now one of the MENA region’s most anticipated events, convening over 10,000 global changemakers annually for two days of inspiring conversations.

Beyond Sheraa, I serve on boards of several organizations, including publicly-listed companies, across diverse industries such as banking, energy, and education. I advocate for governance that blends forward-thinking strategies with resilience and sustainable growth.

I am committed to creating meaningful, lasting impact across the communities and organizations I serve. If you’re passionate about driving change to build a brighter future, I invite you to connect.

Ten years ago today, I signed a contract that was as much personal as it was professional.

After years of studying and working in different cities, I came home, to Sharjah, for an opportunity that felt less like a job and more like a calling: to build something that didn’t yet exist.

At the time, Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) was still an idea: a conversation with Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi on Mount Kilimanjaro, a few notes on a page, and a conviction that our young talent - creative, capable, and full of promise - needed a platform to bring their ideas to life.

We didn’t know exactly what it would look like, but our North Star was Her Highness’s vision: that Sheraa would become a place where imagination meets execution, and where purpose meets possibility.

Ten years later, Sheraa has supported more than 500 startups that have collectively raised over one billion dirhams, and created thousands of jobs.

Building something meaningful is rarely linear. 

It asks you to grow alongside it; to lead with conviction, to listen with humility, and to trust that every season, even the hard ones, has purpose.

Ten years ago, I came home to build an ecosystem.
Somewhere along the way, it built me too.

#Sharjah #Entrepreneurship #Leadership

Najla Al-Midfa

Vice Chairperson at Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) | Vice Chairperson and Managing Director at Emirates Growth Fund

Few sectors touch human life as profoundly as healthcare.

Yesterday, we brought together investors, entrepreneurs, and healthcare leaders for the first Emirates Growth Fund (EGF) Healthcare Roundtable, a conversation about how growth capital can power not just business expansion but national resilience.

We began with healthcare for a reason.

Because when we invest in health, we invest in people.
And when we invest in people, we invest in the future.

At the Emirates Growth Fund, our purpose is to back the “missing middle” of UAE SMEs, founders ready to scale but too often overlooked.

Our first investment, Tarmeem Orthopedic & Spine Specialty Hospital, is proof of what is possible when excellence meets opportunity.

Healthcare today is being reshaped by demographic shifts, digital transformation, and longevity science. 

The question is no longer "if" it will change, but "how" we shape that change to serve both humanity and the economy.

One message echoed through every discussion: progress depends on partnership.

That belief sits at the heart of EGF, connecting ambition with capital and purpose with possibility.

Because healthcare is not just a sector that heals.
It is the foundation on which nations thrive.

#UAE #Healthcare #EconomicResilience

Khalifa Al Hajeri | Mariam Ghobash | Mohammed Alhuraimel Alshamsi | Stephen Welton CBE | Mark Adams FRSA | Dr Ali Alsuwaidi | Hazem Abu Khalaf, CFA | Iqbal Khan | Avinav Nigam | Orhan Osmansoy | Faisal Juma Khalfan Belhoul AlFalasi | Mohaymen Abdelghany | Mubaraka Ibrahim | Howard Gough |

Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation. 

It happens when people believe they are part of something bigger than themselves.

Last week was a powerful reminder of that truth.

Together with Her Highness Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi and a delegation from Sharjah’s innovation ecosystem, we visited Cambridge to explore new pathways of collaboration with one of the world’s most dynamic knowledge economies.

From Cambridge Enterprise and Cambridge Judge Business School to the labs at Babraham Research Campus and the Cambridge Science Park, we saw what happens when research, entrepreneurship, and policy move in sync.

What struck me most was how much resonance there is between Sharjah and Cambridge. Both cities are built on knowledge, human capital, and a shared belief that proximity fuels innovation.

In Cambridge, they often say: “It’s a village.”

In Sharjah, we feel the same. Our universities, labs, research park, and entrepreneurship center all sit within minutes of each other, and our relationships are just as close.

While Cambridge thrives on bottom-up creativity, Sharjah complements it with top-down clarity, ensuring that ideas don’t just emerge, but scale with purpose.

Together, these models remind us:
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to innovation. 
No imported playbook can capture a place’s potential. 
The only path to sustainability is authenticity, rooted in context, culture, and connection.

The week culminated in Sharjah Day in London, where our delegation showcased the emirate’s growing influence as a global hub for investment, creativity, and purpose.

The future belongs to ecosystems that are open, intentional, and connected - 
and to cities that know innovation isn’t built. 
It’s believed into being.

#Sharjah #Innovation #Cambridge #London #Entrepreneurship #UAE

American University of Sharjah 
Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) 
Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SPARK) 
Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) 
Sharjah FDI Office - Invest in Sharjah

When we talk about supporting startups, we often default to capital and mentorship.

But sometimes, the most transformative act of support is simpler: a purchase order.

When Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) created the Sharjah Perfume, we could have gone to a global luxury house.

Instead, we chose a Sharjah-based SME, a homegrown manufacturer whose craft deserved a stage.

That single decision sparked a ripple.

Government entities and corporates across Sharjah are now placing orders,
and with each one, that SME grows in scale and confidence.

For founders, the first contract often matters more than the first cheque.

Procurement is oxygen. It keeps ideas alive long after the pitch decks fade.

This is what ecosystem building in Sharjah looks like.

We believe growth is not powered by capital alone, but by collaboration: 
when governments and institutions choose to believe in their own.

The Sharjah Perfume is not just a scent.
It is a signal that the smallest choices can carry the greatest impact.

#Entrepreneurship #SME #Sharjah #UAE

Al Hanan Ind LLC | Sara Al Nuaimi | Hamda AlSuwaidi | Lubna Sohraab | Reema AlGhas

Fifty years ago, a group of visionary investors - among them Sheikh Faisal bin Sultan Al Qasimi, HE Juma Al Majid, and HE Hussain Khansaheb - came together around a simple yet profound belief:
that a young nation, alive with ambition, deserved a bank that would grow with it.

With a royal decree from His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, that dream took root, and United Arab Bank was born.

Half a century later, the founders' vision endures.

From financing the country's first enterprises to enabling today’s ambitions, UAB has stood beside the UAE’s growth story, evolving with its people, its economy, and its purpose.

Today, as we mark our 50th Anniversary, we honour a journey built on trust and shared progress:

- reaffirmed by improved credit ratings that reflect resilience and discipline;
- strengthened by a successful rights issue reinforcing confidence in UAB’s future;
- and guided by a strategy that keeps innovation and sustainable growth at its heart.

Behind every milestone is a story of belief - in this nation, in our people, and in what partnership makes possible.

As a proud member of the Board, I see in UAB’s story a reflection of the UAE itself: a journey of foresight, leadership, and a constant pursuit of excellence.

Here’s to the next fifty years of confidence, innovation, and contribution to our nation’s future.

#UnitedArabBank #UAE #Sharjah #Banking

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