Taking place on 14–15 October at Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre, SIF 2026 will bring together 80+ speakers and 20+ exhibitors under the theme “Building Adaptive Economies.” The programme will feature sessions, panel discussions, keynote addresses, workshops and direct business meetings, combining high-level economic debate with opportunities for investors and businesses to meet, exchange expertise and explore partnerships.

Organised by the Sharjah FDI Office (Invest in Sharjah) in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Investment, this year’s forum comes at a time when changes in trade, technology, capital flows and supply chains increasingly shape where companies invest and how they plan for growth. The programme has been developed around the practical implications of those shifts, spanning investment and industrial development, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, infrastructure, talent and global connectivity.

140+ activities across two days

More than 140 activities will take place over the two-day forum, offering participants multiple routes into the issues shaping investment decisions today. The programme includes expert-led discussions and keynote addresses, alongside workshops and more than 80 direct business meetings, creating space for both strategic debate and one-to-one engagement.

Among the central questions on the agenda are how economies can withstand pressure on global supply chains; what companies need from a market after they establish themselves; how policy can keep pace with changes in investment, trade and technology; and how artificial intelligence is reshaping the economics of building, manufacturing and scaling businesses.

The breadth of the programme reflects the forum’s 2026 theme. Rather than treating adaptability as a response to individual disruptions, SIF will examine the policies, infrastructure, skills and business models that enable economies to continue attracting investment and growing as conditions change.

80+ speakers bring global and regional perspectives

More than 80 speakers will share perspectives from government, investment, business, technology and entrepreneurship. The line-up includes British entrepreneur and investor Simon Squibb and Indian entrepreneur and AI developer Varun Mayya, alongside ministers, CEOs, economists, investors and industry leaders from the UAE and across international markets.

Their participation will give the forum’s audience access to both macroeconomic perspectives and the experience of people building and investing in companies, developing infrastructure, deploying new technologies and navigating changing markets.

Commenting on this year’s edition, Marwan Saleh Alichla, Coordinator General of the SIF Committee, said: “The forces reshaping investment today do not stop at the borders of a single market or the boundaries of a single sector. Changes in technology, trade, capital and supply chains are increasingly interconnected, and responding to them requires equally broad participation from governments, investors and businesses. This is what SIF seeks to enable: bringing different markets, sectors and perspectives into the same conversation. The expected scale of SIF 2026 reflects that ambition, creating greater scope for ideas to meet expertise, investors to meet opportunities, and conversations to develop into partnerships.”

Connecting global discussion with investment opportunity

More than 20 exhibitors will complement the forum programme, providing participating organisations with a platform to present investment opportunities, projects, services and capabilities directly to an international business audience.

For Sharjah, the discussions also come at a time of continued investment growth. The emirate attracted AED 7.74 billion in FDI across 142 projects in 2025, with the number of projects up 45% year on year and creating 5,673 new jobs. The figures reflect a diversified investment base spanning sectors including manufacturing, technology, logistics, real estate and the creative economy.

SIF 2026 will situate that local investment experience within a wider international conversation. From the movement of capital and goods to the adoption of AI and the infrastructure required for new industries, the forum will examine what investors need from economies today and what economies need to build to remain competitive tomorrow.