This came during the announcement ceremony of the second batch of Emirati federal government employees who benefited from the entrepreneurship, and who were chosen according to the requirements and standards of the leave, which must be met by the employee and the idea of his own project, so that they can begin the journey of private work, while keeping their job and benefiting from a paid leave.

FAHR was represented in the signing of the memorandum by its Director General, Her Excellency Laila Obaid Al Suwaidi, while Etihad Credit Bureau was represented by H.E Marwan Ahmed Lutfi, Director General of Etihad Credit Bureau, in the presence of representatives from both sides, and several supportive business incubators, and beneficiaries of the second batch. The memorandum was an addition to previous memorandums with 9 incubators at the national level, with the aim of supporting employees who have taken entrepreneurship leave, raising their efficiency and entrepreneurial capabilities and benefiting from the privileges and financing options provided by these institutions, in addition to providing guidance and direction to them during the leave period.

10 Business Incubators

In this regard, Her Excellency Laila Obaid Al Suwaidi stressed that the UAE Government seeks, through Entrepreneurship Leave, to empower national cadres and talented employees, and motivate them to join the world of entrepreneurship and discover its fields, which will reflect positively on the future of the national economy, considering the initiative a unique opportunity to explore latent investment opportunities in the private sector, as a qualitative addition and incentive to establish pioneering projects and companies, which contribute to strengthening the economy, and support the state’s efforts to empower national  qualified employees, build their capacities and enhance their skills in various fields.

She stated that the initiative witnessed a remarkable interaction from employees of federal entities who wish to obtain leave and benefit from the benefits provided to them, noting that the second batch was selected after carefully evaluating all applications received from employees, and ensuring that they fulfil all the requirements through an impartial external committee.

She thanked the Authority’s strategic partners in ensuring the success of the projects benefiting from Entrepreneurship Leave, and providing support to their owners, and those partners are Etihad Credit Bureau, The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, the Fujairah Center for Small Enterprise Support, the Saud Bin Saqr Foundation for Youth Enterprise Development, and the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai, which is affiliated with the Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Enterprises Development, the Sharjah Foundation for Supporting Entrepreneurial Projects (Ruwad), Dubai Consulting Company, the Ajman Department of Economic Development, Imtyaz Consulting Company specializing in commercial franchise systems, and EY Consulting Company.

For his part, H.E Marwan Ahmed Lutfi, Director General of Etihad Credit Bureau stated: "We at Etihad Credit Bureau are delighted to join hands with the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources in an initiative that marks a milestone in our journey towards enhancing the efficiency of decision-making processes. This partnership represents our commitment to empowering Government Organizations with comprehensive insights and serve our vison to be a gamechanger that brings to life unseen possibilities through the power of insights”. 

3 Supportive Initiatives

The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources recently launched three supportive initiatives to serve the main initiative, namely: “Ruwad Guidance Program”, with the aim of supporting entrepreneurs to achieve their goals, improve the process of managing their projects, overcome the challenges they face, and ensure their continuity, with the support of partner business incubators, The second is the “Pioneers Development Agenda” Initiative, which includes the most prominent training and development programs for managing private projects, provided by partners, with the aim of improving entrepreneurs’ skills and marketing and commercial knowledge. The third is the “Pioneers Interactive Network”, which is concerned with establishing a platform for communication with entrepreneurs who have obtained a license. Dedicated full time to freelance work for federal government employees, for the purpose of exchanging experiences and information, and addressing challenges. 

10 Workshops

FAHR also previously called on the ministries and federal entities to motivate their UAE national employees to take advantage of this exceptional opportunity, and to allow them to apply for entrepreneurship, in accordance with the specified rules and regulations. It also held 10 awareness workshops directed at federal government employees, in order to explain the details of the initiative. Those workshops were attended by approximately 2,600 interested UAE employees. FAHR pointed out that the nomination process to benefit from the leave is automated, and is done automatically through the Federal Government’s Human Resources Information Management System "Bayanati".

Entrepreneurship Leave

The leave targets Emirati employees working in federal government entities, in order to establish or manage their economic projects, and its duration is one year with pay, and the employee can combine entrepreneurship leave with leave without pay and annual leave.

FAHR made sure to clarify the conditions and procedures that support federal entities when evaluating requests for entrepreneurship leave, as national federal government employees can view the conditions and requirements for obtaining the leave by visiting the website of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources at: www.fahr.gov.ae.

Those who obtain an Entrepreneurship Leave will have the opportunity to benefit from the privileges offered by the National Program for Small and Medium Enterprises provided by the Ministry of Economy. They will also receive free consulting courses from the initiative’s partners to help them start their own projects, manage them professionally, or enable them to expand the activities of their already existing companies and projects.