JEDCO grants $107,899 to support shipping expenses of 10 local industrial SMEs

AMMAN — The Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO) on Wednesday signed 10 agreements to support local industrial small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as part of the corpration’s new programme.

The corporation directly supports shipping costs of SMEs products to access non-traditional markets with a total cost of JD120,000, of which JD76,500 is JEDCO's support, the corporation said in a statement.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, JEDCO’s Board Chairman Tareq Hammouri, said during an online meeting that the aim of the programme is to support and enhance the export process of local products to new untraditional markets.

Hammouri added that the targeted markets considered as a “gateway to exit the economic difficulties we face”.

“In cooperation with the private sector, a roadmap will be drawn which will lead us to those new, untraditional markets, which include all African countries except the Arab countries, in addition to the Eurasian countries — Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan — and Singapore and Azerbaijan,” he said.

JEDCO CEO Bashar Al Zu’bi said that JEDCO seeks to diversify the exports base of products and export markets through its various support programmes to local industrial SMEs, as increasing exports is the solution to economic growth, expansion of production and job creation.

Jordanian exports suffer from a high concentration in export markets as 73 per cent of Jordan's exports in 2019 are concentrated in only four markets: the US, India, Saudi Arabia and China, he said.

The programme came to “motivate” local companies to diversify export markets and explore export opportunities within new non-traditional markets, he added.

The programme received 28 applications and JEDCO, on a competitive basis, will award 10 winning SMEs, with a grant of JD10,000 each and up to 70 per cent of the total expenses, the CEO said.

The food, pharmaceutical, aluminum, jewellery, chemical and plastic industries are among the targeted sectors, in addition to the garment sector, knit and the leather industries, the household appliances, the electrical equipment and appliances, the chemical and the detergents industries and the furniture sector, according to the statement.