Global leaders in technology and sports participate in "Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival 2026"

Sharjah, 7 January / WAM / The “Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival 2026” revealed the speakers participating in its ninth session from a list of more than 300 company founders, CEOs, investors, innovators, and mentors from Arab and foreign countries, in a step that reflects the breadth of the festival’s scope and consolidates its position as a leading platform for exchanging knowledge, building partnerships, and sharing experiences and practical expertise in the global innovation and startup ecosystem.

The festival, organized by the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center “Sheraa”, will be held on January 31 and next February 1 at the “Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park” and provides an integrated program targeting entrepreneurs, professionals, investors and emerging talents to discuss the reality of establishing projects and ways to expand and sustain them in a rapidly developing economic environment.

The speakers’ areas of expertise are distributed across various sectors, including food technology, sports, quality of life, technology, and biological sciences, reflecting the festival’s commitment to providing a comprehensive vision for entrepreneurship, as the speakers provide comprehensive insights on innovation, leadership, well-being, and the ability to adapt, highlighting the skills and resources needed to succeed in a market that is directly affected by changing consumer expectations and the acceleration of technological transformations.

Her Excellency Sarah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Executive Director of Sheraa, said: Entrepreneurship today is practiced within overlapping systems in which specializations intersect and markets change rapidly, which forces founders to think with a more comprehensive awareness based on understanding customer needs. Building companies capable of adapting and expanding requires careful reading of the surrounding environment, flexibility in decision-making, and responsible growth that balances ambition and sustainability. In this context, the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival provides a space that brings together leaders from diverse sectors, allowing the exchange of practical experiences and visions that can be exchanged. For application, the festival constitutes a platform that enables entrepreneurs to expand their horizons, build valuable relationships, and establish projects capable of competing and continuing from Sharjah.

The initial list of speakers includes four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, who will highlight his environmental and social initiatives, especially related to sustainability and climate issues, and entrepreneur and disability rights activist Ghanem Muftah, who embodies the flexibility and adaptation necessary to leave a mark in the entrepreneurial and corporate world and expand social impact.

Heather Hasson is the first woman to hold the position of co-CEO to lead a company to offer its shares for public subscription on the New York Stock Exchange. During the festival, she speaks about the art of selling, based on her experience in leading a company specializing in designing and selling advanced medical uniforms directly to workers in the health sector. The presence of technology in the details of daily life is highlighted during the festival, as Shahzad Younis, founder and CEO of “MAZ,” tells the story of changing his specialty into entrepreneurship.

The list of speakers includes technology entrepreneur Engineer Hamad Al-Hajri, CEO and co-founder of the e-commerce platform “Sununu,” the first comprehensive application in Qatar, as he reviews the requirements for launching successful companies in competitive markets based on two decades of experience in business and developing products enhanced by artificial intelligence.

Former international basketball player Vadim Fedotov will be a guest at the festival and share his experience in providing customized services to consumers and establishing the “Bionic” company with the aim of creating a unique nutritional supplement formula for each user and expanding the company’s scope to include 13 countries around the world.

The festival will also witness the participation of Amna Al Qubaisi, the first Emirati racer to compete in international single-seater championships after joining the Italian Formula 4 Championship. Al Qubaisi inspires festival attendees with the story of her journey in overcoming the challenges she faced and succeeding in a sport dominated by men.

Souad Al Sarkal, founder and CEO of Comm Kitchen Consultancy, shares with the festival audience a summary of more than two decades of experience in public relations, government affairs, corporate communication, and leadership transformations, in addition to a digital presence of nearly one million followers that focuses on communication, presence, and personal growth.

The festival welcomes technology entrepreneur Tom Hill, CEO of Oura, which specializes in manufacturing the Oura smart ring that provides personalized health data. Hill shares his experience in preparing a strategy to transform health care into daily practices using smart technology.

Ahmed Al-Rawi, founder of the food technology company Kalo, reviews the strategy of moving away from the one-solution approach and providing customized solutions that suit the different needs of customers, and reveals the role of food technology algorithms in providing personalized solutions for meal plans.

The festival will be hosted by Simran Kaur, founder of the “Girl Investors” platform, where Kaur highlights the power of youth and their ability to bring about positive transformation by sharing her journey in building a global investment platform for education and a media brand focused on facilitating young people’s access to financial knowledge, especially women.

In the context of raising awareness of the importance of mental health in work environments, Karim Ismail, founder and CEO of the “Mental Health Center for Learning and Development,” is participating in the festival, where he highlights the design of psychological support programs compatible with employees’ needs.

The “Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival 2026” is the largest gathering of its kind in the region that brings together entrepreneurs, innovators and investors to celebrate innovation, project development and transform ideas into sustainable businesses in line with the emirate’s vision to support the knowledge-based economy. This year, it is preparing to receive 14,000 participants and provide an interactive space that brings together the brightest minds in the main business sectors to provide qualitative guidance to founders of start-up companies, professionals and graduates seeking to enhance their capabilities and contribute to advancing the wheel of economic development.

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