Int@j highlights acceleration of Kingdom’s start-up environment

AMMAN — The Kingdom has been witnessing rapid growth in its incubating environment for start-ups, thanks to the availability of talent and the needed infrastructure, such as incubators and growth accelerators, the Information and Communications Technology Association of Jordan (Int@j) said on Sunday.

Int@j noted its agreement with a report issued by the MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Pan Arab, which referenced Jordan’s increasing interest in the forum’s Arab start-up competition, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The report highlighted the results of the Arab Entrepreneurship Maturity Index, which evaluates the status of incubating environments for start-ups in Arab economies, and noted that two Jordanian start-ups acquired investments for shares valued at $9.5 million in February.

Int@j CEO Nidal Bitar said that this growth in start-up incubators is mainly attributed to the association’s endeavours to support entrepreneurs, stressing that the business environment requires cooperation between the public and private sectors to realise development.

Bitar said that start-ups are considered a “real approach” to generating permanent jobs, noting that genuine ideas attract investments.

The Innovative Start-ups and SMEs Fund (ISSF), which was launched in partnership with the Central Bank of Jordan and the World Bank, will play a major role in the future, he stressed.

He also noted that telecommunication companies working in the Kingdom play a positive and major role in providing incubators for entrepreneurs, adding that their contributions “yield great benefits”.