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The Sharjah Foundation for Supporting Pioneering Entrepreneurs, known as RUWAD, announced that it supported 10 projects with more than AED 3.7 million in the third quarter of 2026. The funding came through direct financing programmes and indirect arrangements in partnership with local banks, according to a statement from the foundation distributed via WAM. Projects spanned industrial, professional services and hospitality sectors as the foundation’s Project Financing Committee reviewed applications and issued approvals. This round adds to earlier support provided during the year and reflects RUWAD’s role in backing Emirati-led ventures affiliated with the Sharjah Economic Development Department.
According to the Sharjah Economic Development Department, RUWAD disbursed AED 1.634 million during the first half of 2026 while its member projects secured government contracts worth AED 3.338 million. The foundation welcomed 291 new entrepreneurial projects into its membership over the same period, with 254 new accreditation licences issued and another 440 renewed. A total of 596 member projects received exemptions from local government fees under an executive council resolution that took effect in September 2025.
Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre data shows that non-oil activities accounted for 79.2 percent of the UAE’s real GDP in the first half of 2026, up from 78.1 percent a year earlier. Trade led contributions to non-oil GDP at 16.2 percent, followed by financial and insurance activities at 15.2 percent, the centre reported. The figures coincide with RUWAD’s activities that target SME growth in areas aligned with these leading sectors.
The foundation has provided more than AED 11.5 million to 63 women-led businesses since 2005, according to RUWAD figures. Women accounted for 88 of the 291 new member projects in the first half of 2026, or 30.2 percent, and 312 female entrepreneurs participated in 18 training programmes and workshops during that period. Fatima Hassan Al Ali, acting director of RUWAD, has stated that the foundation takes pride in the achievements of Emirati women and their contributions to entrepreneurship.
RUWAD’s Project Financing Committee called for a comprehensive evaluation framework for future financing requests that would assess credit history, deduction ratios and applicants’ monthly income, the foundation reported. The committee also endorsed recommendations for specialised training programmes in financial budgeting, cash flow management and quality assurance. These steps aim to improve governance across the foundation’s financing activities.
In January 2026, RUWAD approved AED 800,000 for two new entrepreneurial projects, a WAM report from the time showed. The committee’s subsequent meeting in July brought the total number of supported projects to seven with cumulative financing of AED 3.2 million by the end of that month. The third-quarter approvals for 10 projects raising the total above AED 3.7 million extend this pattern of steady expansion in backing for Sharjah-based SMEs.
