Umniah’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Incubator, The Tank, Signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the Global Accelerator Learning Initiative (GALI)

Umniah’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Incubator, The Tank, Signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the Global Accelerator Learning Initiative (GALI) Amman, 16 December 2018 In its ongoing efforts to provide the ideal environment for Jordanian entrepreneurs and attract the best global leadership experience, The Tank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Emory University’s Entrepreneurship Database Programme (EDP), which is part of the Global Accelerator Learning Initiative (GALI). GALI is an independent research initiative that aims to assess the impact of business accelerators on the growth and development of new businesses. Within this framework, The Tank participated in a workshop on “Supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises for employment” organised by GALI in cooperation with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Amman. The workshop, which was attended by representatives from the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) and the University of Emory, discussed a range of ideas about accelerator activities, as well as an introduction on how to accelerate the program. They further discussed lessons learned on data collection and on how to measure the best impact of these accelerators on startups. Commenting on this strategic partnership, Umniah Marketing Director Zaid Ibrahim said: “We are proud of this partnership between The Tank and the Global Accelerator Learning Initiative. This will greatly facilitate the collection and analysis of the incubator’s evaluations of entrepreneur programmes. It will further build better programmes for entrepreneurs and start-up companies, in addition to providing a leading, innovative ecosystem in line with the highest international standards. ” Ibrahim stressed that the signing of this MoU with GALI is part of The Tank’s pioneering efforts to support the business ecosystem in the region to attract the best international experience in the field of entrepreneurship and harness it for Jordanian startups to support their growth and development. Ibrahim added, “Over the past decade, thousands of business accelerators have been launched in the world, few of which are incubators supporting emerging companies in their early stages or the impact of accelerated growth on the development of their businesses; the very reason why GALI was set up “. He further elaborated on GALI data collection as a means of enabling researchers in the field of entrepreneurship around the world to conduct further in-depth studies to develop the leadership ecosystem, market trends, and provide information on the best ways to support pilot projects. The data collection would also help decision-makers in making decisions related to the design and implementation of evidence-based accelerators. GALI responds to a number of questions regarding the contribution of business accelerator programmes regarding the growth of emerging companies’ revenues and the extent in which these accelerators provide new investment opportunities. Ibrahim further pointed out that “this partnership with the GALI Entrepreneurship Database Programme will provide many benefits, such as reports on applications and follow-up, initial information, and contribution to the global database. It will also provide 8 prizes each, including $5,000 financed by Emory University, for entrepreneurs who have completed the application’s research or joined the EDP programme. Lastly, GALI relies on Emory University’s database programme for entrepreneurs, which works with accelerators worldwide to collect data on the entrepreneurs these programmes support. To that effect, GALI has compiled data from more than 13,000 start-up projects and participated in more than 175 programmes for global business accelerators. -End-