The Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa), has established a $1 million solidarity fund to help startups that are under strain due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The fund will be distributed through equity-free grants and commissioned projects, Sheraa said in a statement today (May 4), adding that the fund will aid startups ensuring they remain afloat, and tide over these uncertain times.

“The $1 milion Solidarity Fund reflects Sheraa’s ongoing commitment to supporting our entrepreneurs, especially those struggling to cope with the challenges that Cocid-19 imposes,” Najla Al Midfa, CEO of Sheraa, said.

“We believe that the entrepreneurial community will play a critical role in the recovery of our society, and so these grants will be used not only to help our startups survive, but also to enable founders to develop solutions that will create a better future for our world,” she added.

This grant has been set up in place of Sheraa’s annual events, which will not be taking place this year keeping in view the safety, health and wellbeing of the community.

“Instead, all allocated resources are being used towards the solidarity fund. Grants will be awarded to entrepreneurs committed to creating real impact and building a future we, and the generations to come, deserve,” it said.

The initiation of the fund is in honour of the #UbuntuLoveChallenge, a global initiative spearheaded by HE Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi and thought leader, Mamadou Kwidjim Toure, founder of the Africa 2.0 Foundation, the statement said.

The #UbuntuLoveChallenge is a global movement where change-makers and experts from around the world are encouraged to share projects, initiatives and knowledge that makes a global positive impact, thus providing hope in the face of hardship. Millions of people from across the globe are seen collaborating and addressing current problems while offering solutions for the future on the platform.

Sheraa, a non-profit government organisation, is headquartered at the American University of Sharjah and hosts a community of ambitious entrepreneurs. The second Sheraa hub, launched in September 2018, is located at the University of Sharjah.

Since its’ inception, Sheraa said, it has built a community of over 10,000 entrepreneurs and ecosystem players.