Princess Sumaya attends ceremony honouring winners of Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Award

AMMAN — HRH Princess Sumaya Bint El Hassan, president of Royal Scientific Society and chair of board of trustees of Princess Sumaya University for Technology, attended a ceremony honouring the winners of the 13th edition of the Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Award. 

These Award-winning entrepreneurs participated in the Orange Corners Jordan incubation programme initiated by The Netherlands, marking today also as the first graduates completing this incubation, according to a statement to The Jordan Times.

The event was attended by Ambassador of The Netherlands to Jordan Harry Verweij, Vice President of the Royal Scientific Society Rafat Assi, President of PSUT Wejdan Abu Elhaija, Executive Director of the iPARK Business Incubator Omar Hamarneh, in addition to representatives from the government, innovation and entrepreneurship sectors.

The princess began her speech by observing a minute of silence for the souls of the martyrs of Gaza, noting the importance of leadership and innovation for recovery after the end of the war, and highlighting the significance of cross-border exchange and partnership in finding solutions for the region. 

She also stressed that entrepreneurial talent exists in abundance in our country, and these competitions contribute greatly to strengthening and empowering these talents and developing their ideas in a spirit of determination and dedication, which represents a real force for change and development in our society. 

Princess Sumaya also called for continuing to build bridges of cooperation and exchange experiences to advance the entrepreneurship sector in Jordan by creating the appropriate conditions to demonstrate the best skills and distinguished entrepreneurial ideas possessed by young people.

Princess Sumaya also said that the Queen Rania Centre for Entrepreneurship (QRCE), since its establishment in 2004,  has had a main goal of supporting and empowering entrepreneurial talent, as the Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Competition represents, at its core, a unique Jordanian initiative, characterised by a regional and global outlook, adding that this is the result of a creative and supportive partnership between the QRCE at Princess Sumaya University for Technology, and the iPARK business incubator at the Royal Scientific Society.

She also said that the value and impact of the competition offered by the centre has gone beyond merely supporting offices and startups to reach the communities it seeks to serve, through networking with partners, advisors and specialists and connecting them with young people to help and motivate them to learn more, so that they will be future leaders and decision makers in determining their path.

The princess also pointed out that what distinguishes the competition this year is that it has become more representative of the hopes of the young generation in the economic future, in close cooperation and partnership with the “Orange Corners” programme within an initiative of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is being implemented in 22 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Verweij expressed his appreciation for the valuable support of the Jordanian private company contributions to Orange Corners, adding that “I congratulate the winners of the Award and the Orange Corners graduates. The Netherlands firmly supports empowering innovative entrepreneurs, enabling them to build businesses, foster economic growth and ultimately shape a brighter future for Jordan”.

Obaidat stated that the Orange Corners Jordan incubation program aims to support young Jordanian entrepreneurs who have gone beyond the idea stage, built the minimum viable products, and have operated for at least one year. Pointing out that more than 600 teams registered for the award, of which 120 teams qualified and received training for two months, and then 40 teams qualified for incubation with Orange Corners Jordan.

The princess honoured the winners of the Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Award, with the first-place recipient being Techcare, the second-place winner Planalyz, the other second-place winner Farm Jo and the third-place winner Shipdip.

Princess Sumaya also honoured the winners of the iPARK incubation award supported by AstraZeneca, including Techcare, Shipdip and Tourstify.