The Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) has officially revealed the winners of its Access Sharjah Challenge 2025 – Education Edition. Backing the emirate’s push toward scalable EdTech innovation, the competition awarded top honors to two high-impact startups: EvolveCareers and Arabee.
Quick Facts
- 4,600 global applications received from 90 countries.
- EvolveCareers won the Future-Ready Skills track.
- Arabee secured first place for early childhood Arabic.
Driving Scalable EdTech in the UAE
The Access Sharjah Challenge continues to validate the emirate as a highly active hub for education innovation. The 2025 edition attracted serious international attention, drawing thousands of applicants across 90 countries before narrowing the field down to two highly scalable solutions.
To transition these solutions from concept to practical execution, both winning startups recently pitched their platforms to a global audience of policymakers, investors, and educators at the 5th Sharjah International Summit on Improvement in Education 2026. This stage allowed the founders to demonstrate their readiness for immediate, real-world implementation within local school systems.
The initiative directly aligns with Sharjah’s wider structural goals. Under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the emirate is aggressively positioning education as a central pillar for long-term economic resilience and cultural development.
EvolveCareers: Aligning Education with Future Labor Markets
Securing the win in the Future-Ready Skills track, EvolveCareers provides a platform designed to clarify emerging industry pathways for students. By heavily integrating actual labor market insights with practical skill-building modules, the startup helps users prepare for the realities of the modern workforce.
Throughout the Access Sharjah Challenge, EvolveCareers detailed its active collaboration with the Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA) and Sheraa. The startup deployed a custom skills assessment tool across three Sharjah schools, allowing students to map their capabilities and track individual progress.
This pilot program directly supports SPEA’s ambitious objective: achieving an 80% increase in skill readiness by the time local students graduate. Following early positive results, the startup is currently exploring avenues to expand this initiative across the wider emirate.
Arabee: Modernizing Early Childhood Arabic Learning
Winning the Arabic in Early Childhood track, Arabee brings an interactive, play-based platform to the regional EdTech market. The startup addresses a critical need in foundational education by delivering culturally grounded digital tools designed to build strong Arabic literacy from an early age.
Arabee’s model relies on integrating Modern Standard Arabic into daily routines through stories, music, and interactive play. This consistent, engaging exposure is engineered to boost both language proficiency and cultural identity among young learners.
During the challenge, Arabee demonstrated how early childhood Arabic learning can be modernized without losing its core cultural value. The startup is now leveraging its momentum to expand its reach, collaborating with local educators and content developers to scale its platform across Sharjah.
About Access Sharjah Challenge
Operated by the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa), the Access Sharjah Challenge is an equity-free competition that connects innovative startups with major public and private sector entities in the UAE. By offering pilot projects, market access, and structural support, the initiative enables founders to scale their solutions while addressing specific challenges within Sharjah’s growing economy.
Source: Zawya
