Sharjah thrives in the shadows of glittering Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Hugging the UAE’s Gulf coast east of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the emirate of Sharjah is prospering as a lower-cost business center within easy proximity to its high-flying neighbors.

While cultivating its own ecosystem of free zones and industry clusters, Sharjah has committed $8 billion to new strategic initiatives over the past two years, drawn in $2 billion in foreign direct investment and created more than 3,000 new jobs. With 1.8 million people, its population is roughly half the size of Dubai’s.

In an interview with The Circuit, Marwan Alichla, Director of Investment Promotion & Support at the emirate’s Invest in Sharjah agency, talks about new efforts to reach small and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs. Among the sectors being targeted are advanced manufacturing, agritech, food security, healthcare, culture and tourism, and environmental sustainability.

Positioned at the crossroads of the UAE, Sharjah is using its strategic location, improved infrastructure and a basket of new financial incentives to attract businesses, presenting a compelling argument as the cost of living in neighboring Dubai continues to skyrocket.

With Dubai’s economy booming, how does Sharjah compete?
When we describe Sharjah, the most important points we always highlight are the cost of doing business and then secondly, the improved infrastructure. When it comes to anything investors would require, and when it comes to cost, we have considerable [advantages] over our neighboring cities.

What is your strategy to attract investors and what kind of investors are you looking for?

Mainly our role is to promote investments, to facilitate, guide and support. To promote investment opportunities, we focus on seven different sectors:  advanced manufacturing, agritech, food security, healthcare and wellbeing, culture, tourism, and environmental sustainability.

We also look after innovation and human capital. We have done a lot of research to identify investment opportunities. Let’s talk about advanced manufacturing as an example. We have the largest area for an industrial city. We have more than 33 industrial zones and we are looking for more manufacturers.

What kind of investors approach you?

Sharjah’s economy is based on SMEs. We have more than 66,000 SMEs based in the emirate of Sharjah. When it comes to free zones, we have six different free zones. Sharjah has two main free zones that look after small and medium enterprises. We have the Hamriyah Free Zone and the Sharjah International Free Zone. We have four specialized free zones and specialized clusters. There is Sharjah Healthcare City, the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park. We also have Sharjah Media City, which looks after the creativity and media sector, so there are opportunities.

Why are SMEs based in Sharjah?

Because we have created an ecosystem for startups. We have three different entities that look only after startups. One of the main ones is the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center, Shera, which has startup incubators and offers various incentives for startups. The second one is Ruwad, which also looks after Emirati entrepreneurs. We have one government entity that looks after women entrepreneurs, the Sharjah Women’s Business Council, and they have their own programs.

What kind of infrastructure do you have that attracts investors?

In terms of infrastructure, we have created different clusters for different areas. We have a cluster specialized for tech companies, innovation centers and research and development centers. We have a cluster specialized for media, creative industries, and studios. We have a cluster specialized for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, clinics, special clinics and hospitals.

How do you describe Sharjah’s competitive advantages?

Sharjah is in the middle of the UAE. We border all the emirates, and when it comes to logistics, it is the right and ideal location for companies. Sharjah looks after innovation, so you’ll have the right talent pool ready there for you to support. And we have a growing ecosystem, whether it’s for startups, or for small and medium enterprises.