Entrepreneurial thinking is becoming every young person’s greatest competitive advantage

Every generation is asked to prepare for a future it cannot fully predict. For today’s youth, that future is arriving particularly quickly. Artificial intelligence is reshaping industries, technology is changing how value is created, and new professions and business models are emerging.

The question facing us is therefore larger than how we prepare youth for the jobs of tomorrow. It is how we prepare them to participate in shaping what tomorrow becomes.

This is where entrepreneurship has a much deeper role to play.

Entrepreneurship teaches young people to take initiative. It teaches them that when they encounter a problem, they can investigate it; when they see an unmet need, they can respond to it; and when circumstances change, they can find another way forward. The deeper value is developing the confidence to move from observing change to participating in it.

The economies of the coming decades will depend on people who can think across disciplines, question assumptions, collaborate, and translate knowledge into solutions. Entrepreneurial thinking develops these capabilities by encouraging youth to ask what they can do about the challenges around them and how their ideas can create value.

In Sharjah, this idea has a particular resonance. The emirate’s development has long been grounded in the belief that investing in people is the starting point for lasting progress. Under the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and the leadership of Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa), education, knowledge, culture and community continue to shape an environment where ambition is connected to purpose.

At Sheraa, we see what happens when youth are given space to discover their potential. Across universities, incubation and acceleration programmes, mentorship, market access, investor connections, we create opportunities for youth to test ideas, build capabilities and turn ambition into action.

A recent study conducted with the American University of Sharjah reflects this growing confidence. It found that 40% of students intend to start a business within five years of graduation, while 14% plan to do so immediately. Students also scored 71 out of 100 for entrepreneurial self-efficacy, 16 points above the global average. Behind these numbers is something significant: youth increasingly believe they have the capacity to take an idea and do something about it.

The UAE’s position as the world’s leading entrepreneurship ecosystem for the fifth consecutive year reinforces the strength of the environment around them. It reflects sustained investment in talent, innovation and opportunity, and a culture that gives youth the confidence to contribute.

On International Youth Day, our ambition should extend beyond preparing youth to respond to the future. We should give them the capabilities, opportunities, and trust to help shape it.

Their paths will differ. What matters is that they recognise their own ability to act, contribute, and create value. Because when youth see the future as something they have a role in creating, their potential becomes a force for progress across our economies and communities.