Sound economic policy is not merely arithmetic measured by jobs created or spending injected; it is a structuring of the relationship between the individual, the market, and the state. The market alone does not distribute opportunity fairly, and the state alone cannot create competence from nothing. Effective public administration designs incentives so that the rational economic choice aligns with the national and social good. From this perspective, Nafis is more than an employment initiative. It seeks to place the Emirati citizen at the core of productivity, competitiveness, and sustainability. Extending it until 2040, after it contributed to employing more than 176,000 citizens, including 152,000 beneficiaries working in 32,000 establishments by the end of March 2026, confirms that Emiratization is now a structural path to reshape the labor market.
From a Transitional Project to an Institutional Ecosystem
When Nafis was launched in September 2021 as part of the second package of the Projects of the 50, it was presented as an integrated federal program comprising 13 projects, with AED 24 billion allocated to enhance the competitiveness of Emirati talent and support its integration into the private sector. In its original form, the program aimed to absorb 75,000 citizens over five years, while offering salary support, contributions to pension subscriptions, child allowances, and training and professional qualification programs. This showed that the challenge was not simply vacancies, but the cost of moving into the private sector and the institutional differences between it and the public sector. Nafis therefore emerged as a framework to correct distortions in incentives.
The ecosystem then evolved rapidly. In November 2022, increased salary support for citizens in the private and banking sectors was announced, along with an expansion of the beneficiary base to include those employed both before and after the program’s launch, while raising the ceiling of financial support and broadening the sectors and specializations covered. The Emirates News Agency indicated that these updates would help build partnerships and support more than 170,000 citizen beneficiaries over the following five years. This explains why comparing targets over time can mislead: the project began with an initial target of 75,000 opportunities, then later expanded its policies to cover a broader base of working citizens and beneficiaries.
The Real Impact… What Has Changed in the Structure of the Market?
Viewed only through raw figures, the achievement may appear quantitative. A closer reading reveals a real transformation in market structure. According to the Cabinet’s review in January 2026, the total number of citizens employed in the private sector rose to more than 175,000 by the end of 2025, compared with around 35,000 before the launch of Nafis, an increase of 389%. This means not only that opportunities expanded, but also that the private sector has become more willing to absorb national talent, and that citizens themselves have become more inclined to see it as a stable professional path. With active beneficiaries as of March 2026 spread across 32,000 establishments, the shift has moved beyond major companies into the wider fabric of business and economic activity.
The program’s impact did not stop at hiring, but extended to continuity and stability within the market. Women accounted for 74% of total beneficiaries, while more than 38,000 children benefited from the Child Allowance Program. Around 3500 citizens benefited from the Healthcare Sector Cadres Development Program, while the number of beneficiaries of the “Kafa’at,” “Khibrah,” and “Training for Employment” programs reached around 7700 citizens. These figures show that the state is addressing not only the unemployment gap, but also the social risk associated with working in the private sector, from family stability to skills development. When families are reassured and employees find a training and career path, work becomes a professional project capable of growth and accumulation.
This helps explain the broader vision articulated by His Excellency Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Member of the Board of Directors, and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council (ETCC), when he said in September 2024 that Nafis had prepared a generation of national cadres and leaders capable of meeting the requirements of the next phase through their contribution to the private sector, and described the program as an embodiment of the directives of our leadership. In this context, Emiratization is no longer simply about filling vacancies or increasing labor market entry; it has become part of a broader process of building institutional capacity within the national economy. The standard of evaluation therefore rises from quantity to quality.
Why Does Extending It Until 2040 Represent a Qualitative Shift?
The most important decision at this moment is not the figure alone, but the time horizon. Markets do not change their behavior through short lived decisions, companies do not redesign their hiring policies around initiatives that may be discontinued, and citizens do not build long-term careers in the private sector unless they trust that the rules are stable. Extending Nafis until 2040 is therefore a declaration of institutional stability. It tells companies that the state is a long-term partner in managing this transformation, not merely a passing source of funding; it tells citizens that the private sector is not a stopgap, but a space of future opportunity; and it tells the government apparatus that Emiratisation has become part of sustained development planning.
The extension was not announced in isolation from qualitative updates. It came alongside a package of amendments during the Year of the Family 2026, including the removal of the upper limit on the number of children covered by the Child Allowance for program beneficiaries, the addition of a program to support the children of female citizens working in the private sector, and another program to support the wives of citizens working in the private sector. This reflects a shift in the philosophy of Nafis, from supporting the individual employee to supporting the family structure around that employee. In modern public administration, the success of labor policy is measured not simply by the number of people hired, but by its ability to reduce attrition and maximize stability and retention.
The Next Challenge… From Employment to Quality and Productivity
The success of Nafis in its next phase will not be measured solely by rising numbers, because numerical growth may reach its natural ceiling unless it is translated into job quality, clear advancement pathways, the ability to retain talent within companies, and a balance between government support and actual productivity. The real question after 2026 is not how many citizens entered the private sector, but how many of them will become project managers, team leaders, technical experts, or people whose added value makes them difficult to replace. The challenge thus shifts from social policy to the economics of skills. The program already has a structure that enables this transition, but the next phase requires a sharper focus on work environments, career progression, and measuring impact through productivity, skills, and sustainability.
Nafis represents a noteworthy example of bringing economics, administration, and social policy together within a single framework. It did not treat Emiratization merely as a regulatory obligation, nor did it reduce it to financial assistance. Rather, it sought to build a more balanced market by reshaping incentives, narrowing disparities, and enhancing the institutional attractiveness of the private sector. Its extension until 2040 therefore appears logical, because building new professional habits, a new social culture, and a new partnership between the state and the private sector requires more time than a government cycle or an economic wave. If the next phase succeeds in turning quantitative gains into qualitative entrenchment in skills, leadership, and retention, Nafis will stand as a model for a more mature, efficient, and stable national labor market.
