AMMAN -- The King Abdullah II Fund for Development and the Jordan Gaming Task Force (JGTF) will launch a fund before the end of the year to incubate entrepreneurs interested in developing apps and mobile and online games, and turn their ideas into businesses.
"One of the major challenges facing app development as well as the mobile and online gaming industry is the lack of funding to support entrepreneurs in the field. The fund we will launch will help address this issue," JGTF Chairman Nour Khrais told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.
The Apps Fund, as it will be called, will give entrepreneurs an opportunity to use tools and equipment to develop apps and games, demand for which is on the rise in the Middle East as the number of people connected to the Internet in the region is growing at a "fast pace".
The fund will also help market the apps and games created by entrepreneurs who are incubated by the fund and will help attract investments to turn these ideas into companies, Khrais said.
"Those incubated by the fund will be committed to train other entrepreneurs in the sector," he said.
In the interview, he stressed that Jordan can be a gaming hub in the Middle East due to the skilled human resources in the field.
"Government support is needed to boost the sector," Khrais said.
"The apps and gaming industry is one of the largest industries in the world and there should be genuine strategies to boost the sector, especially since Jordanian companies are leading in developing games in the region," he said.
The value of investment in the sector worldwide stands at around $80 billion.
© Jordan Times 2012
