Entrepreneurs in Jordan

The concept of entrepreneurship, and its association with innovative, creative, out-of-the-
box thinking, was quite new to Jordan. Neither educational institutions nor workplaces
encouraged this type of behavior. Schools’ and universities’ teaching methods that were
based on “rote memorization with direct dissemination of information,” leaving little room
for critical, independent and creative voices. Likewise, workplaces often perceived
innovative, creative minds more as a threat to the hierarchy than as contributors to the
growth of the business.

Furthermore, people traditionally expected the Government to serve as the main employer
in the country. Many people still saw civil service positions as highly desirable. Private sector
activities had been left to small and medium-sized family-owned businesses led by a
“merchant” mindset. Small and medium-sized businesses with fewer than 100 employees
were the norm, constituting 98 percent of Jordan’s private sector activities. Many businesses
were established under license from the Government. Companies typically were family-held
and sons and cousins traditionally followed in their fathers’ footsteps.

Given the high unemployment rate among 15 to 24 year olds and the stated emphasis on
private sector, the Jordanian Government was eager to promote high profile youth
entrepreneurship programs. YEA (Young Entrepreneurs Association) and INJAZ (Economic
Opportunities for Jordanian Youth Program) were among the largest initiatives aimed at
young people to get them involved in Jordan’s private sector, developing them into
entrepreneurs and future business leaders. YEA is “a non-profit organization dedicated to
promoting and encouraging entrepreneurship in Jordan as well as educating Jordanian
business people on the social and economic value of unconventional ideas.” INJAZ is a
“school-based youth business skills” initiative funded by USAID that is designed to
“empower youth to facilitate their entry into the job market as qualified employees or
entrepreneurs.”

Other organizations that support the entrepreneurial culture in Jordan include:

Endeavor: a global non-profit organization that breaks down barriers that prevents
emerging-market entrepreneurs from reaching their high-impact potential. Endeavor
screens hundreds of next-generation entrepreneurs, ultimately selecting those who
demonstrate the leadership, creativity, and entrepreneurial qualities to build high-growth,
successful companies. Once selected, Endeavor Entrepreneurs benefit from services tailored
to help them develop their businesses, their plans for growth, and attract financing.
Endeavor Jordan launched in 2009 to support high-impact entrepreneurship in Jordan.

The Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship (QRCE): a not-for-profit, non-governmental

organization which works towards improving national development, and aims to be the
region’s cornerstone for technology commercialization and entrepreneurship advancement.
The QRCE hosts the Google Award for the Best Online Business in Jordan, in addition to the
Queen Rania Entrepreneurship Competition.

Endeavor Jordan, The Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Young
Entrepreneurs Association have collaboratively put together the Global Entrepreneurship
Week event in Jordan. The goal of Global Entrepreneurship Week is to inspire young people
to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity, and to encourage entrepreneurship
around the globe. The organizers in Jordan focused especially on positioning the country as a
regional hub of innovation and the leader in entrepreneurial activity.

Business Development Centre (BDC): As per the Jordan-US business partnership, the BDC
was formed in 2005 to provide management training, functional support, and coalition
building opportunities to encourage the growth of SMEs and the development of
entrepreneurial capacity within Jordan.

Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO): JEDCO is a government entity

established in 2003 to facilitate enterprise modernization, including the promotion of
efficiency and capacity building in target enterprises. The objective of JEDCO is to enable
Jordanian businesses to maximize the benefits of economic and trade agreements signed by
the government, confront the challenges of globalization and penetrate non-traditional
markets.

Amman Tech Tuesdays: A local platform that brings engineers, business people, experts,
investors, marketers, entrepreneurs, students and regular enthusiasts from the technology
community together on the first Tuesday of every month in a casual but structured setting.
The main goal behind the program is to organically fortify and interweave tech-ties in
Amman to further our position as the region’s Silicon valley/Sahara.”

iPARK: Technology Incubator aims at providing the needed catalyst to fuel the
entrepreneurial process that is pivotal to Jordan's economic development.

Other SME and entrepreneurship support initiatives in Jordan include: the Industrial
Scientific Research and Development Fund (ISRDF), King Abdullah II Fund for Development
(KAFD), MeydanValue@Speed Accelerator, Agro-Industries Business Incubator (Jordan
innovation Center), the National Consortium for Technology and Business Incubation
(NACTBI) and Jordan Loan Guarantee Corporation (JLGC).

The entrepreneurial culture is already set in Jordan; however, it was not ripe enough to
attract sufficient funding. In ATH’s AcceleratorTech fund, a country such as Jordan is
described as an ideal low-cost base for launching new ventures. The overview cites Jordan as
a “low cash-burn innovation environment” that offers technology-savvy and cutting edge
solutions that are universal in their value proposition. After all, Jordan houses a number of
great start-up success stories.

Aramex is one of the leading logistics and transportation companies in the Middle East and
South Asia and was the first company from the Arab World to go public on the NASDAQ
stock exchange. In 2002, Mr. Ghandour, in collaboration with Abraaj Capital, took the
Company private and focused on maximizing revenue-growth opportunities. In 2005,
Aramex was listed on the Dubai Financial Market; the company generated US$ 233 million of
revenue. Today Aramex has revenues of over US$ 600 million and employs over 9,000
people.

Maktoob, founded in 1999, started as the first Arabic language e-mail provider and rapidly
grew to become the Arab world’s leading online community. In 2009, Yahoo acquired
Maktoob for $165 million, by that time the number of unique users had grown to more than
15 million. It had become the most recognized brand in the region. The landmark sale to
Yahoo demonstrates not only that the Arab consumer has a strong global relevance but also
that homegrown technology and expertise had truly come of age. Samih Toukan and
Hussam Khoury, the men behind the venture, provided hope and inspiration to young
entrepreneurs while also providing to investors an example of potential exit.
Pharmacy One is considered one of the fastest-growing companies in the region. In the span
of a decade, it quickly transformed the pharmaceutical retail experience in the Kingdom. The
Jordanian chain is looking to branch out beyond the country’s borders, and Dr. Amjad Aryan
(CEO and 2011 E&Y Jordan Entrepreneur of the Year) plans to create the largest pharmacy
chain in the region. Today, nearly a decade after its inaugural branch, Pharmacy1 has 53
branches that are home to roughly 500 people in Jordan alone, including 245 pharmacists.

In Jordan, a country with no oil or energy resources to rely on, the environment is especially
ripe for seed-stage funding. Emile Cubeisy of IV Holdings, an investment subsidiary of ATH in
Amman, believes the future belongs to daring venture capitalists that invest in start-ups.
Aside from the great difficulties entrepreneurs face when looking for start-up capital,
“validation” is an important step towards building a stronger conviction among
entrepreneurs. In Jordan, business plan competitions are being proposed and launched;
creating awareness in the investor community that there’s a flow of entrepreneurial ideas
and energy. There’s a realization that a gap in the entrepreneurship ecosystem exists, but
the solution is not in ideas or programs, but in a will to turn ideas into successes.

The desire for an active SME base goes all the way to the top in Jordan. King Abudllah II has
championed the cause of Jordanian entrepreneurs and the potential of the private sector; a
recent initiative from the King centers on kick-starting the efforts of germinating a more
nurturing and practical ecosystem for entrepreneurship.

Venture Capital and Angel Investments in Jordan

After a meeting with King Abdullah, a group of progressive entrepreneurs set up Oasis 500, a
program to incubate and train future entrepreneurs and seed their ideas. Dr. Ussama
Fayyad, CEO of Oasis 500, is confident that Jordan has a tech-savvy core community keen on
developing ideas in cyberspace and new technology; therefore he hopes Oasis 500 will
eventually fund 500 new start-ups.

Mr. Fadi Ghandour, founder and CEO of Aramex, is another entrepreneur who has promoted
entrepreneurship in Arab countries. He leads Aramex’s new developmental initiatives for
fostering emerging leaders, leaders who are willing to embrace risk and confront hurdles in
order to create opportunities for themselves and others. Aramex supported WAMDA, an
innovative platform that facilitates entrepreneurship in the MENASA region. In October2011,
he participated in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Arab Business Plan
Competition in Amman, Jordan.