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During the first day of Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival 2026, the festival organized a series of specialized workshops within the “Festival Academy” zone, offering a comprehensive practical framework aimed at equipping entrepreneurs with applied knowledge and hands-on tools to accelerate project development and enhance financial, technological, and creative readiness.

The workshops focused on key areas including financial management and investment, geospatial data analysis, AI-driven business automation and data analytics, and building sustainable income streams for content creators. These sessions were designed to help founders transition from early-stage ideas to scalable and growth-ready business models.

Financial Literacy: Saving, Budgeting, and Investment

In a workshop titled “Money Mastery 101: What to Do and What to Avoid in Saving and Investing”, Shahd Abdelhadi, co-founder of Women Who Invest, highlighted the fundamentals of personal finance, budgeting, and investment within the broader context of entrepreneurship.

Participants explored practical money management strategies, including capital allocation, cash runway optimization, and resource efficiency. The session also addressed methods for measuring return on investment beyond immediate financial gains, emphasizing skills development, operational resilience, strategic partnerships, and long-term business growth.

Turning Geospatial Data into Business Value

In another workshop titled “Location Data That Makes a Difference: Turning Geospatial Data into Profits”, Ezias Thomas Bijou, Head of UX and UI Design and second-year Computer Science student at Heriot-Watt University Dubai, demonstrated how startups can leverage geospatial data as a strategic competitive advantage.

He explained that while many companies rely on mapping tools such as Google Maps, few advance to spatial analytics that enable deeper insights into demand distribution, service coverage, and operational costs. Bijou emphasized that store, office, and warehouse locations—and the distances between them—have a direct impact on operational efficiency, supply chains, and strategic decision-making.

He also noted that geospatial data at city and neighborhood levels plays a critical role in planning, yet is often undervalued as a strategic asset. Citing industry reports, he pointed out that the retail sector currently accounts for around 21% of the global location analytics market, which is expected to grow from approximately $27 billion in 2026 to over $63 billion by 2034.