Sharjah Debuts First Government-Backed Digital M&A Gateway
The platform offers investors, SMEs, local and international entrepreneurs an end-to-end digital M&A ecosystem. Its features include seamless online registration, tailored advisory support, post-transaction assistance and robust confidentiality safeguards such as non-disclosure agreements and comprehensive due diligence protocols.
The initiative follows a memorandum of understanding signed by H. E. Mohamed Juma Al Musharrkh, CEO of Invest in Sharjah, and Ahmad Ibrahim, CEO of Transworld GCC, in the presence of H. E. Ahmed Obaid Al Qaseer, CEO of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority.
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Built to serve the mid-market segment, the platform is a strategic entry point for investors into the global M&A market, which reached a value of US$ 3.5 trillion in 2024—a 15 per cent rise year-on-year. Regional M&A momentum mirrored this trend, with 701 deals valued at US$ 92.3 billion recorded across MENA markets in the same year.
Sharjah AcquireHub is tailored to enhance market liquidity and flexibility, providing structured options for growth, strategic exits or corporate restructurings. It also offers M&A readiness workshops for local businesses, launches an international matchmaking programme for vetted opportunities, and plans global roadshows to promote Sharjah-based strategic acquisitions.
SMEs are central to the platform's design. Considering that they account for more than 94 per cent of businesses in the UAE, the service gives local enterprises a pathway to expansion, alliance-building or exit strategies within a secure and transparent ecosystem. The emirate's business environment continues to show resilience, with over 71,320 new and renewed licences issued in 2024, representing a 7 per cent increase.
Emphasising Sharjah's strategic position, the platform supports diversification across sectors such as industry, technology and healthcare, reinforcing the emirate's role as a regional M&A hub underpinned by a long-term economic vision.
Mohamed Juma Al Musharrkh commented that collaboration with Transworld Business Advisors 'creates new pathways for domestic and international investors, leveraging global expertise alongside Sharjah's development vision and technological capabilities'. Ahmad Ibrahim added that digital transformation and strategic partnerships are central to advancing the emirate's investment ecosystem and unlocking growth opportunities.
Transworld Business Advisors brings substantial credentials to the partnership, having completed over 2,500 M&A transactions in 2024, operating through more than 250 offices across 27 countries with over 1,000 specialised dealmakers. The firm ranks among Axial's Top 100 global M&A advisory firms.
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