UAE: Sheikh Mohammed Announces New Campaign To Train 10,000 Young Entrepreneurs

UAE launched a new national campaign titled 'The Emirates: The Startup Capital of the World” to train 10,000 young entrepreneurs on Sunday, announced Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE, and Ruler of Dubai.

With over 50 entities participating from both the public and private sectors, the initiative will create 30,000 job opportunities in five years, according to a video shared by Sheikh Mohammed.

A new platform, called Startup Emirates, in partnership with the New Economy Academy, will provide free mentorship programmes and connect youth with startups. The new campaign aims to help youth start building their own companies, and take part in a two-way exchange, with young entrepreneurs both benefitting from the opportunities, and contributing to developing the nation in return.

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The entrepreneurship program will equip 10,000 Emirati men and women with both foundational knowledge and practical skills in entrepreneurship. It includes a beginner track focused on essential concepts and practices for aspiring entrepreneurs and an advanced track covering the full journey from business setup to sustainable growth and global expansion.

The campaign will also help spread awareness of the "importance of benefiting from the economic boom that the country is experiencing", the Vice-President said.

“Today, the Cabinet launched the new national campaign 'The emirates: The Startup Capital of the World'. The campaign brings together more than 50 entities from both the public and private sectors, with the aim of training and nurturing 10,000 Emirati entrepreneurs, creating thousands of economic opportunities, and raising community awareness on the importance of leveraging the economic momentum the country is witnessing. A series of initiatives will be introduced, with a call for all institutions to actively participate in this campaign and support its objectives," the Dubai Ruler said.

"The UAE is currently home to 50 business incubators spread across the country. Small and medium-sized enterprises form the backbone of the national economy, contributing more than 63 per cent of the non-oil GDP. The UAE also leads among 56 global economies in supporting SMEs and in providing the best possible environment for their growth and success," he added.

The Emirates economy now draws from diverse income sources, with multiple small and medium-sized companies contributing over 63 per cent of non-oil GDP. The UAE's non-oil economy is projected to grow faster this year at 5.5 per cent as compared to five per cent, driven by tourism, retail, real estate and private credit growth, according to Capital Economics, as earlier reported by Khaleej Times.

UAE remains one of the most diversified startup hubs in the region as funding across the Middle East and North Africa surged. In August, the UAE secured $154 million across 11 startups . With long-term residency programmes, investments in AI, incubators, seed funding, and more, the Emirates remains a hotspot for business growth.

Besides the startups and entrepreneurship program, the announcement included more points listed below.

Specialized Content Creator Program in Economics and Entrepreneurship

A national initiative to raise awareness about entrepreneurship by training 50 Emirati content creators specialized in economics and entrepreneurship.

Project Management Experts Programme

A training program to qualify and license 500 Emiratis in residential construction project management. Participants will be empowered to oversee the entire lifecycle of housing projects-from planning to execution-and will be equipped with the skills and knowledge to support homeowners in building their residences.

UAE Tax Agent Programme

Licensing 500 certified Emirati tax agents through an intensive training program over three years. The program includes, VAT Diploma, Corporate Tax Diploma implemented in collaboration with the Federal Tax Authority and the New Economy Academy.

Launching 250 Emirati Real Estate Companies

Supporting the launch of 250 full-time Emirati real estate companies by incubating and supporting them. These companies will operate as licensed agencies, not just independent brokers.

Young Entrepreneurs & Graduate Business Expo

This will include promoting entrepreneurship from an early age by organizing a nationwide expo across all educational institutions in partnership with the Ministry of Education. In addition to hosting a dedicated expo for graduate entrepreneurs to showcase their business projects to a wide audience of investors, potential partners, and support organizations, in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

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