The Sharjah Foundation to Support Entrepreneurial Projects “Ruwad” of the Department of Economic Development in Sharjah launched the “Ruwad” virtual incubator, which targets students in the last two years before graduation, university and college graduates, and those wishing to enter the world of entrepreneurship.
His Excellency Sultan Abdullah bin Hadda Al Suwaidi, Chairman of the Department of Economic Development in Sharjah, confirmed that the establishment of the “Ruwad” virtual incubator comes in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah and the diligent follow-up of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, which It pays great attention to developing the entrepreneurship environment and sector and places it on its governmental priority list to empower entrepreneurs and integrate them into the labor market, indicating that the goal of establishing this incubator is to encourage students, graduates and entrepreneurs to enter this field in a way that saves them the costs of renting a headquarters for economic activities that do not require the presence of a headquarters It is realistic and does not require a field inspection.
His Excellency explained that the incubator will provide everything that would enhance the entrepreneurship environment in the Emirate of Sharjah, overcome the obstacles that young people face at the beginning of establishing their business, and provide all aspects of support and follow-up in cooperation with all strategic partners to ensure the continuity and success of projects by continuously measuring their development and growth and preparing reports. periodical about it.
He added that the incubator will provide a set of facilities to its affiliated members, which include exemption from fees for government agencies in the Emirate of Sharjah for a period of 3 years from the date of the establishment of the project and fees for awareness workshops and training programs organized by the Foundation, in addition to granting the project owner a 50 percent discount from the fees for participating in programs Diploma, specialized programs, and priority to participate in exhibitions and conferences organized by the Foundation and government agencies.
For his part, His Excellency Hamad Ali Abdullah Al-Mahmoud, Director of the “Ruwad” Foundation, explained that the Foundation will incubate the projects based on phases that extend over five years, in exchange for encouraging financial fees commensurate with the stages of project development and its revenues.
The incubation of the project begins within the first phase in the first and second years within a virtual incubator For only 3,000 dirhams per year, and in the third and fourth years, the owner of the project gets a realistic incubator for only 6,000 dirhams per year. In the fifth year, the project is given the opportunity to obtain an independent office in the business centers of the “Ruwad” partners, with reduced fees.
The incubator will promote Opportunities for trade exchange between members of the institution through the “networking” initiative and providing the possibility of extracting residency permits for workers on the subsidized license with a maximum of 3 residencies with the possibility of integrating and engaging a category of non-nationals with professional and academic skills and specializations within the supported projects to gain and exchange experience.
He pointed out that the Foundation has set conditions for affiliation with the incubator that the project applicant must abide by until it is accepted, which is that the project owner is a citizen who manages and owns the project himself and that he meets the conditions of the membership program, indicating the need for the project to be within the economic activities determined by the Foundation in coordination with the Department of Economic Development, stressing the importance of The annual provision of financial statements by the project owner to the “Ruwad” Foundation, and his lack of the right to rent or sell the virtual space provided by the Foundation.
