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SEF 2025: The ultimate playground for entrepreneurial ideas and innovation

The region’s largest entrepreneurship festival returns to Sharjah on February 1 & 2

In February, the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival (SEF) returns as the region’s leading platform for innovators, trailblazers, and changemakers.

Over the last 8 years, SEF has provided a platform for 350+ startups to showcase their potential to the world. In 2025, festival features like the Pitch Competition, Investors Lounge, SEF Souq, Startup Town, and more will continue to enable key connections between founders, investors, mentors, and collaborators, setting the stage for new ventures to take off.

Attending SEF automatically provides a window into Sharjah, ranked fourth in the GCC and seventh in the Mena region for startup ecosystems in the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER). The emirate’s economy is projected to grow by 2.8 per cent annually from 2024 to 2027 but exceeded previous predictions with a 6.5 per cent increase in 2023, reaching Dh145.2 billion. Last year Sharjah also attracted Dh10.1 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), a 140 per cent annual increase, solidifying its status as a global investment hub for over 65,000 foreign companies and thriving local businesses.

The emirate has been serving as an attractive launchpad for startups and small businesses for decades, and SEF complements this with its network of resources and opportunities.

Organised by the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa), SEF 2025 will ignite bold ideas, unlock new opportunities, and drive ambition—fueling innovation, enabling connections, and inspiring the next wave of leaders and disruptors.

Under this year’s theme, Where We Belong, the festival will showcase the emirate’s unique ecosystem, blending cultural heritage with modern innovation to drive impactful ventures.

SEF 2025 will bring over 300 thought leaders, successful entrepreneurs, and changemakers to the stage. Their stories of perseverance and success are packed with tangible advice and examples that help entrepreneurs reframe their approach and think more strategically.

A dedicated Startup Town, 10 exclusive zones celebrating themes of creativity, sustainability, impact, and more; a souq to promote the talent and vision of local artisans; the SEF Academy that will cover the basics to the masterclasses and everything in between; an international pavilion that will connect the world’s ecosystems; a dedicated Made in Sharjah zone that will showcase the emirate’s emerging entrepreneurs; to name just a few. Additionally, the festival’s art, entertainment, and culinary discoveries will keep attendees going.