Business Club

The Housing Bank has announced the renewal of its annual support to the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) during a meeting that was held last Wednesday.

The meeting was attended by HRH Princess Ghida Talal, chairperson of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Centre, and Abdel Elah Al Khatib, chairman of the Housing Bank.

The two parties had previously signed a partnership agreement for 2019-2020, under which the Housing Bank will provide support to several programmes and campaigns of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation, most notably the annual breast cancer awareness campaign, and the national breast cancer media competition, aimed at raising public awareness about breast cancer in Jordan.

The Housing Bank will also be the sponsor of the SIWAR Volunteer Programme and the Private School Football Championship.

Souq Amber has been officially opened since Saturday. It is the first-of-its-kind souq as it reflects the true Jordanian culture, heritage and future aspirations, and it will be open all year round, with local vendors, craftsmen and entrepreneurs taking part.

Souq Amber opened its doors to the public on August 16, as part of the first phase of introducing the souq to the public. So far, around 10,000 visitors have visited the souq.

At the opening ceremony, Hisham Al Abbadi, acting secretary general of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, said “We support all new ventures and projects that seek to invest and create more opportunities to promote our tourism industry, as Souq Amber is striving to do”. Shadi Barhoumah, project manager at Al Badiyah Real Estate Company, the owner of Souq Amber, said: “Souq Amber was created to provide local vendors, craftsmen, micro-entrepreneurs, women and youth the opportunity to showcase their products for sale at an easily available and affordable platform. So far, the launch of this souq has created up to 300 job opportunities for the Jordanian citizens.”

In a global effort to raise awareness on breast cancer, October has been designated as the Pink Month, and with the aim to educate about the disease, BCI will dedicate its efforts during this month to support this cause through several activities.

As part of its commitment towards the local communities to increase awareness, BCI Group created a series of pink initiatives, starting with illuminating the façade of its main building in Mecca Street in Pink throughout October, to switching the company’s logo to Pink on its social media platforms, in addition to creating pink bags all as part of the visual identity throughout the month.

In order to help customers take part in this initiative, enabling them to support King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC); the leading institution in treating cancer in Jordan and the Middle East, BCI will donate 3 per cent of its showrooms sales in Jordan and Palestine during October for the benefit of KHCC, not to mention empowering customers to donate 1JD or more at any BCI showroom in Jordan.

In comment, Fadi Baransi, CEO of BCI Mobile Group said: “Within BCI Group’s CSR strategy... we are certain that we will lead a remarkable campaign to increase awareness about breast cancer”.

Supported by the European Union (EU), Tanmeyah “Jordan Microfinance Network” is holding awareness sessions in Jordan’s governorates to spread financial knowledge.

The sessions focusing on “the Principles of the Financial Literacy”, target the formal financial sector, in particular, and are intended to serve the country’s economy.

The sessions highlight the importance of the microfinance and its impact on enhancing the entrepreneurship culture, responding to the different financial and non-financial needs of the clients and the targeted entrepreneurs.

They also highlight the difference between the formal financial sector (Banks and licenced Microfinance Institutions) and the informal financial practices for the benefit and soundness of the clients and the financial landscape.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc. (Hikma, Group) (LSE: HIK) (NASDAQ Dubai: HIK), the multinational pharmaceutical company, has been spearheading numerous partnerships and initiatives aimed at promoting diversity and empowering women.

Since 2015, Hikma has been hosting its “Dare to Dream Big” sessions, which have commenced in Jordan and are now being conducted at different Hikma locations worldwide.

The initiative seeks to identify motivational factors that drive employees, spark motivation and encourage positive attitude. The sessions are hosted on a monthly basis and serve as an interactive platform for exchanging ideas and highlighting success stories shared by prominent guest speakers from different walks of life.

This year’s “Dare to Dream Big” sessions have been focusing on fostering self-development and self-advancement among Hikma’s female workforce by partnering with distinguished life coaches to deliver skills on coping with change, finding inner happiness and overcoming fear. The latest in this series of sessions was hosted at Hikma’s corporate offices in Jordan on September 26, 2019, tackling the topic of emotional intelligence.

The Ministry of Health (MoH), the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Health Care Accreditation Council has recognised 16 MoH facilities in Irbid for taking steps toward improving health services for women and children in northern Jordan.

The USAID Health Service Delivery Activity programme is helping health facilities, across Jordan, to identify gaps in quality care, establish client service stations to direct patients towards the proper care according to their needs, and strengthen documentation of care provided for each patient. “I cannot emphasise enough how important your work is to Jordan...When people have access to high-quality health services, they have better health outcomes. And better health outcomes mean they can focus on making a living and supporting their families.

When this happens across the country, the whole Kingdom benefits,” said USAID General Counsel Craig Wolf. A ceremony, attended by Ministry of Health Secretary General Hekmat Abul-Foul, USAID General Counsel Craig Wolf and US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Mike Hankey, was held on the occasion. Supporting health facilities is part of the USAID and the MoH longstanding partnership to ensure essential service delivery to the people of Jordan. 

As part of celebrations marking His Majesty King Abdullah II 20th anniversary of his accession to the throne, Samsung Amman Marathon concluded its children's race on Friday, October 4th at Al Hussein Public Parks.

Organised by Run Jordan and the Greater Amman Municipality, the race witnessed the participation of more than 1,000 children, between the ages of 6 and 14 year.

The race kicked off in the presence of Hatem Al Hamlan, on behalf of the Mayor of Amman, the General Manager of Run Jordan Lina El-Kurd, Mohammad Al Abdallah in his capacity as Samsung Electronics Levant delegate, and the judging committee of the Jordanian Athletics Federation.

Children and their parents enjoyed the celebratory atmosphere along the race and ran for 4km within the King Hussein Park and finished the race at the starting point. Greater Amman Municipality representative, Samsung Electronics Levant delegate, general manager of Run Jordan honoured the winning children with trophies.

Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) has received the first Transavia flight from Amsterdam on Tuesday.

The arrival of the Dutch low-cost carrier marked the commencement of three weekly round trips between both countries, underscoring efforts to grow QAIA’s airline network and offer passengers a wider range of direct routes to popular worldwide destinations.

The inaugural flight was greeted with the customary “water arch” salute — in the presence of representatives from Airport International Group, as well as Transavia’s ground handler Royal Jordanian and general sales agent Link Aero Trading Agency. “At Airport International Group, we continuously seek to attract regional and international airlines by working closely with the Jordan Tourism Board and local sales representatives.

Such collaborations directly contribute to the expansion of our airline network, while providing passengers with more diverse travel options, boosting tourism to the Kingdom and cementing QAIA’s standing as Jordan’s prime gateway to the world,” Airport International Group CEO Kjeld Binger stated.

Link Aero Trading Agency Chairman, Amro Sameer, stated, “We are honoured to serve and represent the Dutch airline, Transavia, which has kicked off three weekly flights between QAIA and Amsterdam as of the first of October.”

Dead Sea Marriott Resort & Spa presents its first Tango Night in cooperation with the Friends of Jordan Festivals on October 17, 2019 from 8:00 to 11:00pm.

The leading Argentinean Tango Show, “Tango Legends”; all the way from Buenos Aires, will be performing for the first time in Jordan at the Resort’s new outdoor venue: The “408 Below”. guests will experience an authentic Argentinean night with a dinner including empanadas and grill stations as well as, two remarkable performances of a traditional dance.

The “408 Below” has undertaken a full renovation in June 2019. It is the biggest and only air-conditioned outdoor venue in the Dead Sea.

The Tango Legends are guaranteed to give an unforgettable show; having the dancers come from a variety of dance backgrounds such as ballet, flamenco and jazz and performing in over 20 countries. For more information and booking, please call 06 461 33 00 or +962 79 747 1 747.

Aqaba Seasons’ autumn newsletter gives local and international tourists a taste of the Red Sea and its neighbouring areas. “Aqaba Seasons is a quarterly newsletter aiming to give tourists an easy-to-use and carry reference produced and designed by Al Marji Publications and distributed free of charge in Aqaba, the Dead Sea and Amman,” says Hind-Lara Mango, publisher and managing director.

In its digital and print formats, the content offers tourists ideas about activities in Aqaba, from snorkelling and diving to touring the newly launched underwater military museum in a glass-bottom boat.

Beyond Aqaba, the newsletter focuses on Wadi Rum, a dreamland for tourists and filmmakers; as one learn how the Royal Film Commission has facilitated film productions, such as Aladdin, Transformers and The Martian! Readers can also catch up on what’s happening in Aqaba, from rallies, marathons and sport events to concerts and community outreach. For more, visit https://familyflavours.com/booklets-2/