Jordan Start-up Expo kicks off in Amman

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The Jordan Start-up Expo, a two-day business-to-business (B2B) conference and exhibition for local emerging start-ups, kicked off on Wednesday in Amman.

The networking event, which features the participation of over 100 local enterprises and organisations, aims to enable Jordanian entrepreneurs to meet and connect with top regional and global corporations, government agencies, accelerators, incubators, investors, banks and technology companies, according to organisers.

The event was also marked by a number of keynote presentations and panel discussions presented by experts and successful entrepreneurs who focused on subjects such as “start-up development and grass roots; performance, technology and data science; brand and engagement; as well as finance and funding”.

Deputising for Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Ahmed Hanandeh, Acting Director of Investment and Entrepreneurship at the ministry Liza Habashneh spoke about the importance of entrepreneurship during the event.

In her opening remarks, Habashneh said: “Entrepreneurial start-ups in Jordan … were able to prove themselves on a regional and global level, distinguished by their … innovative work in several fields and sectors such as mobile applications, e-commerce, education technology, finance technology, health technology, media and design, artificial intelligence and others”.

She also pointed out that the Kingdom’s support for entrepreneurship is “not new”, as its first investment fund, which was founded in 1988, supported the launch of a large number of successful businesses.

Moreover, she described Jordan as an “enabling free zone for information technology companies”.

To stimulate investments in the sector, the Cabinet endorsed a set of tax incentives and exemptions in 2016 related to software development, digital data processing, mobile apps development, e-training and e-learning, digital content and electronic games, website portals and outsourcing, Habashneh said.

She added that through its National Strategy for Entrepreneurship and its executive plan for 2021-2025, the ministry aims to create a supportive environment for entrepreneurship in terms of legislation, infrastructure, training, finance and access to markets.

Emerging companies can also benefit from the “Youth, Technology and Jobs” project, which works on developing the digital skills of youth, according to Habashneh.

The ministry also offers support programmes for employment in emerging entrepreneurial companies, she added.

These include the Graduates Internship Programme (GIP), which covers 50 per cent of the incentives for trainees in private sector companies for 12 months. Other programmes include the Incentives for Temporary Jobs project in the digital and entrepreneurship sector, which covers 50 per cent (up to JD200) of the new hires’ monthly salary, as well as their social security subscription for 6 months, she continued.

Regional Co-Managing Partner and Regional Head of Corporate and Commercial Group at the UAE-based law firm Global Advocacy and Legal Counsel Murad Abida was the first keynote speaker during the event. He discussed the main challenges facing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the MENA region, which include issues such as effective planning, market demand, business management, finance and marketing.

In a study published by the Sortlist Data Hub in September 2022 under the title “SME Guide: The Best Places in the UK and MENA to Start a Small Business”, Amman ranked fourth among the top ten best cities for start-ups in the MENA region, with a 5.97/10 SME start-up score. Amman was preceded by Kuwait City, Dubai and Riyadh.

The expo is organised by The Future Event Media and Productions, a company which specialises in B2B conferences and exhibitions as well as product launches, bespoke events and exchange programmes, according to its website.