New start-up portal to foster ‘strategic partnerships’, boost ecosystem

AMMAN — Al Hussein Technical University and the Information and the Communications Technology Association of Jordan (int@j) on Wednesday launched StartupJo, a new portal aimed at supporting the Kingdom’s entrepreneurial ecosystem through strategic partnerships. 

Culture, human capital, finance, policy, support and markets will be the core pillars of the newly-founded platform, which seeks to foster collaboration and engagement between local, regional and international stakeholders from universities, business incubators, the public and private sectors and investors, according to the platform’s website. 

Developed with the support of web solutions provider Vardot, the platform includes a full database on business start-ups in Jordan, as well as investors and funding parties, the statement said, noting that the second phase of the launch will entail creating connections between entrepreneurs and investors so as to stimulate entrepreneurship and economic growth in Jordan, according to a statement issued by int@j.

“The platform, which is the first of its kind in Jordan, seeks to enhance the business environment scientifically and practically based on accurate data,” int@j Chairman Bashar Hawamdeh said in the statement. 

For his part, Vardot CEO Mohammed Razem expressed his pride for taking part in the project, stressing that “this will contribute to achieving the Royal Vision Reach 2025”.

“This platform comes to bridge the great gap that Jordan suffers in the provision of data on start-up companies and leadership,” Hawamdeh said during the launching ceremony, which was attended by ICT Minister Muthana Gharaibeh and Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority Ghazi Jabour. 

“Telecommunication companies will play a key role in supporting entrepreneurship in the Kingdom,” Hawamdeh continued, thanking the ministries of ICT and youth, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, Al Hussein Technical University and all telecommunication companies for their “continued support in all the initiatives of the association”.

Commenting on the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the Kingdom in August this year, int@j CEO Nidal Bitar said that “innovation requires the settings that shape it”. 

“Innovation is very important for the ecosystem, and we cannot enhance the entrepreneurship ecosystem without having innovative projects. It has to do with design-thinking, ideation and a business mindset — letting the idea flourish and making it go locally, regionally and globally known,” he said during a symposium organised by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) in partnership with int@j.

To bolster economy and encourage creativity and innovation, the government and business community need to create a viable environment for young start-up ventures, stakeholders agreed during the session. 

“In any society — but especially in a country like Jordan  —  it is very important to create a good environment for start-ups, because it is a dynamic factor in the economy and it is easier for young people and young entrepreneurs to build up their businesses, and much of the innovation we see in the economic field anywhere is due to start-ups,” head of the FNF MENA office René Klaff said during the session, stressing that “it is a high priority for both the Jordanian government and its business community to create a viable environment for start-ups”.