“Sharjah Entrepreneurship” discusses employing innovation to drive sustainable growth

The activities of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival 2026 were launched with the participation of government leaders, policy makers, investors, entrepreneurs and leaders in the business sector, to discuss ways to employ entrepreneurship, innovation and multi-sector cooperation to drive sustainable growth in an increasingly complex global environment.

In light of accelerating technological transformations, changing global supply chains, and growing social and economic pressures, the opening ceremony discussions focused on the requirements for transforming innovation into tangible, scalable value. The speakers emphasized the growing conviction that the abundance of ideas and capital alone is no longer enough, and that long-term competitiveness is now dependent on effective governance, a high ability to implement, and advanced coordination between sectors, especially with the transformations led by artificial intelligence in productivity, business models, and labor markets.

As part of the opening ceremony, Badr Jaafar, the UAE’s Special Envoy for Business and Philanthropy, delivered a keynote speech entitled: “Expanding What Makes a Difference: Entrepreneurship at the Intersection of Artificial Intelligence, Capital, and Social Impact,” during which he presented a vision that confirms that entrepreneurship represents the mechanism that enables the transformation of emerging technologies, compatible capital, and strategic risk into tangible results applicable on the ground.

During his speech, Jaafar pointed out that artificial intelligence is already contributing to accelerating productivity on a large scale, amid estimates that generative artificial intelligence alone may add trillions of dollars annually to the global economy. However, he stressed at the same time that technology alone does not decide the results.

He said: “The difference lies in compatibility. “When technology, capital, talent, and governance are integrated around common goals, entrepreneurship becomes a driver of sustainable economic and social value over the long term.”

Based on the UAE’s experience, Jaafar pointed to national frameworks such as the “UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031,” which links the adoption of artificial intelligence to developing the workforce, establishing a framework for responsible governance, and expanding partnerships between the public and private sectors.

He explained that this approach, based on an integrated system, allowed the integration of artificial intelligence into multiple sectors, including logistics services, health care, climate resilience, and government services, in a way that supports productivity and raises the efficiency of institutions.

He stressed that entrepreneurship remains a cornerstone of this model. The UAE has ranked first in the world in entrepreneurship for several consecutive years, and continues to be among the world’s leading economies in digital competitiveness, which reflects an advanced system based on clarity of legislation, advanced infrastructure, and effective coordination between sectors.

Jaafar also stressed the importance of aligning capital with expansion paths, explaining that the impact is not related to the size of investment alone, but rather to the extent of its connection to implementation capacity and long-term goals. In this context, “strategic philanthropy” has been highlighted as a practical facilitator within entrepreneurship ecosystems, as it contributes to absorbing early-stage risks, financing initial experiments, and building joint platforms that allow markets to gradually expand the scope of solutions over time.

The opening ceremony concluded by emphasizing the importance of multi-sector cooperation, with coordination between government, business and philanthropy being a strategic asset that enables us to keep pace with technological disruptions, while maintaining a resilient, comprehensive growth path.

The Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival 2026 continues its activities over two days, bringing together leaders from the region and the world to explore how entrepreneurship and innovation can expand the horizons of economic opportunities and create long-term social impact.