On the sidelines of Global Entrepreneurship Week The Tank by Umniah Hosts Panel Discussion on the importance of the Public Private Partnership in enabling the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Jordan

The Tank, Umniah’s business incubator, hosted a panel discussion titled “Joining Efforts: The Power of Public-Private Partnership” at its headquarters in Al Hussein Business Park on the occasion of Global Entrepreneurship Week, which ran from November 14 to November 20.

The panel hosted Raed Madanat, Director of the Youth, Technology & Jobs Project at the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, Mohammad Al Muhtaseb, CEO of Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF), Laith Al Qasem, Chief of Party- Iqla USAID, and Zaid Al Ibrahim, Commercial Chief Officer of Umniah.

This panel was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, Intaj, and USAID, as part of The Tank’s strategy to support and improve the entrepreneurship industry in the Kingdom.

During the discussion, Al-Madanat explained that the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship is working on several initiatives to support the entrepreneurial environment in Jordan, as well as supporting startups and small and medium enterprises to achieve their full potential which is in alignment with the recently announced economic modernization vision, as many Jordanian entrepreneurs have demonstrated their brilliance on a local, regional, and international level, as well as their ability to achieve success despite the challenges they face in order to elevate the entrepreneurship industry to a major sector in the Kingdom.

Al-Madanat also emphasized emerging companies and startups can now benefit from support programs provided by the “Youth, Technology, and Jobs Project”, which is overseen by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship. These support programs provide access to required digital skills and facilitate entrepreneurs’ access to local, regional, and international markets. It also serves to encourage businesses to expand their operations in the Kingdom, enter new markets, as well as improving youth access to online self-employment platforms.

Zaid Al-Ibrahim, Chief Commercial Officer at Umniah, stressed on the importance of the partnership with public sector to support and enable the entrepreneurial environment in the Kingdom, especially since Jordan has occupied advanced ranks on the global entrepreneurship index in recent years, and many Jordanian startups have managed to attract the attention of international companies which led to millions of dollars’ worth in acquisition deals.

According to Al-Ibrahim, Jordan is full of creative and innovative young people, many of whom face a variety of challenges that prevent them from bringing their ideas and projects to life, indicating that the concept of entrepreneurship remains underdeveloped and suffers from a lack of funding and regulatory stability of legislation, especially those related to taxes, as well as excessive bureaucratic formalities, that necessitate collaboration between the public and private sectors to resolve.

Al-Ibrahim stated that Umniah, through The Tank, recognized the importance of supporting emerging startups early on, as they are the foundation of building a sustainable economy due to their contribution to GDP and creation of job opportunities. All of which falls under Umniah’s sustainability program which was launched in alignment with Jordan’s economic vision as well as the United Nation’s SDGs, both of which emphasize on the importance of supporting people, ideas, and projects with high added value in a variety of industries.

Al Ibrahim went on to state that The Tank by Umniah offers an integrated set of incubation services that help entrepreneurs excel and grow their businesses to new levels, such as guidance, financial and legal advice, assistance in business development, marketing, networking with investors, access to global markets, office space, and programs. In addition to providing programs specialized in the Internet of Things, forming ideas or concepts, technical business training, hackathon competitions, and facilitating access to regional IoT accelerators and platforms, indicating that the incubator has signed many agreements and memorandums of understanding necessary to enable startups and entrepreneurs to obtain financing in the initial stages of their business.

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