Amman: The Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF) - the largest investment fund of its kind in Jordan - has announced a direct investment of USD 150,000 in Martix; a Jordan-based online marketplace platform. The investment was made following an investment round during January 2021, which raised a seed fund of USD 300,000 together with UAE-based investment management firm; Select Ventures Holdings. 

Founded in 2018, Martix enables local merchants to smoothly transition online and strengthen their ecommerce presence by leveraging state-of-the-art technology tools and workflows, whilst presenting consumers with an aggregated view of on-boarded stores for a seamless shopping experience that allows them to make purchases from multiple stores via one shopping cart. Martix also lends logistics and digital payment solutions, as well as last-mile service providers that are connected to the platform, to both sellers and consumers. 

“With services rapidly shifting online, we are placing special emphasis on supporting digital companies that not only possess high growth potential, but also help give rise to Jordan as a regional hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. By depolying the latest technologies to cater to the evolving ecommerce needs of merchants and consumers alike, Martix serves as a prime example of local entrepreneurial success, and we eagerly look forward to seeing how our investment will contribute to the plaform’s development during the upcoming period,” commented ISSF CEO, Laith Al Qasem.

On his part, Subhi Sallam, Martix Founder and CEO, stated, “Martix emerged from the need to streamline the local ecommerce market and create a digital mirror of the local physical market. Our laser-focus on our vision, paired with our deep understanding of market context and dynamics, have been key factors in our success. With Martix, people across Jordan can now shop safely and conveniently online from more than 400 local merchants that have access to over 300,000 consumers on our app. We have a vision and goals that have yet to be achieved, and we are excited to kickstart our next phase with the support of the investment made by the ISSF and Select Ventures Holdings. We cannot wait to reveal what Martix has in store for the region.”

In turn, Amjad Mustafa, Select Ventures Holdings Managing Partner, added, “Community shopping is an important aspect of the Jordanian culture and a growing trend within today's ecommerce arena. People prefer to buy from stores they know and trust, and Martix has brought those retailers to their customer base via an excellent platform. The strength of Martix is in their business model, scalable technology, customer service and the very hard work of their founding members. We have been alongside Martix since the beginning and are excited to see them progress well beyond the Jordanian market.”

The ISSF is registered as a Jordanian private shareholding company. The objective of the ISSF is to support and elevate Jordan’s entrepreneurial and innovation landscape by facilitating the establishment of new investment funds that serve the ecosystem; making direct investments in innovative, export-oriented and scalable local startups; as well as implementing initiatives that improve the capabilities of Jordanian entrepreneurs and startup teams through training, capacity building and targeted incubation and acceleration programs.

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About the Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund

The ISSF is a national project established in 2017 as a private shareholding company to actively promote a fundamental shift within the local entrepreneurial and innovation landscape. The ISSF - which is the largest investment fund of its kind in Jordan - is implemented in cooperation with the World Bank over a duration of six years, concluding in November 2023. During this period, the World Bank foresees the ISSF to make both direct and indirect investments (the latter in investment funds) in 150-200 local innovation companies and build the capacities of at least 825 entrepreneurs and SMEs through specialized training to qualify them for prospective investments. The total working capital of the ISSF is USD 98 million, with a USD 48 million investment from the Central Bank of Jordan and a USD 50 million investment from the World Bank. The ISSF is committed to facilitating funding for Jordanian early-stage startups and SMEs, particularly those demonstrating ambitious vision and high growth potential. The ISSF endeavors to foster a thriving and supportive entrepreneurial environment that enables promising local entrepreneurs to transform innovative projects into sustainable startups; generate jobs for Jordanian men and women; and prompt economic sectors that serve export markets by capitalizing on the creative and technical capabilities of entrepreneurs and management teams across Jordan.

For more information, please visit the website at www.issfjo.com 

For more information or assistance, please contact us at:
Fax:  +962 6 585 3001
P.O. Box:  930391, Amman 11193, Jordan
Email: media@bidayamarcom.com 

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