SHARJAH, 14th October, 2025 (WAM) – The need to upskill and improve Corporate Social Responsibility levels in the UAE by incentivising companies to give back to the community was the highlight of the third Roundtable talk “CSR and Social Entrepreneurship: Pathways to Vision and Opportunity” organised by the Sharjah Business Women Council (SBWC) and the American University of Sharjah’s School of Business Administration (SBA). The round table saw the participation of government officials, subject experts and entrepreneurs in the UAE landscape.
The forum was held in the presence of Maryam bin Al Shaikh, Director of SBWC, who inaugurated the fourth edition and reaffirmed the Council’s commitment to supporting initiatives that enhance the entrepreneurship ecosystem and solidify Sharjah and the UAE’s status on the global business map.
The forum featured an elite lineup of speakers, including Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Department of Government Relations in Sharjah and Co-founder of Seafood Souq; Sara Shaw, Director of the National CSR Fund “Majra”; Dr. Jamal Maalouf, Assistant Professor in the Department of Management, Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the American University of Sharjah’s School of Business Administration; Salma Gharama, Director of Social Business at the Authority of Social Contribution (Ma’an); as well as Ceylan Oren, Co-founder of The Waste Lab; Nadine Zeidan, Sustainability and Impact Expert and Founder of MENA Impact; Dr. Saeed Al Hassan, Founder of Manhat, and Dr. Narjess Boubakri, Dean of SBA.
Sheikh Fahim Al Qasimi stated that he was speaking in his capacity as an entrepreneur. He noted that entrepreneurs are sometimes predisposed to turn to the government when facing challenges, rather than the private sector, due to the former's dominant culture providing a safety net.
“I also think it is more about educating investors and less about educating entrepreneurs. There is enough disposable income, and we need to design and implement strategies to bring investors together successfully,” Sheikh Fahim further noted, highlighting the need to create social enterprise angel investors.
The session was organised as part of a series of dialogue forums launched by the Sharjah Business Women Council, in collaboration with the American University of Sharjah, to empower women entrepreneurs, enhance knowledge exchange, and find innovative solutions that contribute to achieving the desired positive change within the UAE’s business ecosystem.