Entrepreneurship ministry inks deals to support business incubators

AMMAN — The Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship has signed two memoranda of understanding for three years with NasJo Training Company (ILearnJO) and the Jordanian Innovators Association (TTI).

The agreements aim to provide sponsorship to a group of business incubators affiliated with the ministry in Jerash, Balqa and Irbid governorates by incubating entrepreneurial projects and facilitating their work in the affiliated areas, according to the ministry.

Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Ministry Acting Secretary General Samira Zu'bi stressed on the importance of spreading the culture of entrepreneurship among Jordanian youth and the local community and enhancing their life skills, intellectual growth and innovation capabilities.

She said in a ministry statement that these skills are consistent with the ministry's vision and aspirations to enable digital transformation and stimulate creativity and innovation among Jordanian youth.

“This cooperation is important as an example of a promising partnership between government institutions and civil society institutions to serve the entrepreneurship system in Jordan, as TTI aims to support qualitative entrepreneurial projects related to technology and engineering with a focus on enabling such projects to adapt with the market changes imposed by the pandemic,” said executive director of the TTI Bilal Raslan.

ILearnJO is a Jordan-based non-profit organisation, which started out of the most vulnerable areas in Jerash. It inspires positive behavioural change among young people through empowering local partners and development of knowledge spaces, according to an ILearnJO statement.

The Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship has transformed 40 knowledge stations into incubators in all governorates of the Kingdom, where there are currently about three-four incubators in each governorate to make it possible for creative entrepreneurial youth to benefit from incubation services and develop their creative ideas wherever they are, Saddam Sayyaleh, executive director at ILearnJO, told The Jordan Times.

The main aim of this programme is to benefit from the infrastructure of the stations to provide incubation services instead of providing only training in the field of information technology, support entrepreneurial thinking among members of the local community by attracting, incubating and caring for entrepreneurs, Sayyaleh said.

He added that the programme also aims to provide the necessary support for entrepreneurs from the governorates to transfer their ideas to creative projects and reducing the barriers for entrepreneurs to start creating their business and examine their ideas and transfer them to the advanced stage.

“As there are no sustainable social entrepreneurship incubators in Jordan, we offer services to young people aged 16 to 28 that are usually inaccessible,” he said. 

“We teach young people about entrepreneurship and encourage them to participate in a variety of initiatives, such as launching a new business or supporting an existing one through incubators that incubate new ideas and existing businesses, as well as improving their employability through assisting them in finding internships or jobs through digital tools within these communities,” Sayyaleh said.