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AMMAN — “Transformation relies heavily on innovation, and, even though Jordan excels in several areas, it is not enough, and we shall remain open-minded if we want to resolve our issues,” ICT Minister Majd Shweikeh said on Sunday, stressing that “we can not digitise what is already not working”.

The remarks came at the second edition of the Entrepreneur of the Year Forum organised by Ernst & Young (EY) Jordan, which aims to provide a platform for the Kingdom’s entrepreneurs, thinkers and business leaders to engage in a discussion on entrepreneurship. 

“Innovation realised” was the theme of this year’s edition, which saw the participation of local, regional and international speakers who offered their perspectives on the issues related to the cultivation of a pro-innovation environment in Jordan.

The minister thanked all partners for organising “a platform for the transformation of our future”, noting that “innovation should be understood as the mindset of the people willing to create new ideas, and as a way of survival that needs to be at the core of every entity both in the private and the public sectors.”

“Connectivity is power and digital justice is what we are trying to achieve,” Shweikeh continued, stressing that Jordan has a “powerful and resilient infrastructure with all institutions connected, and what we need to find out is how we are going to use that to change the future of our youth”.

When asked about the government’s ability to keep up with the pace of innovation, the minister said that “technology moves faster than the regulations, and it is because of this that the impact of the regulations should be assessed in order to understand its effects at all levels and prevent any constraints to innovation.”

For his part, partner at EY Jordan Waddah Barkawi said that “building on the resounding success of last year’s Entrepreneur of the Year forum, we are delighted to bring it back for a second consecutive year, thus playing a major part in the conversation about innovation, which has taken the region by storm,” noting that “today, the term ‘innovation’ reflects the region’s collective efforts to bring and sustain positive change in all areas and sectors.”

Guest speakers from the public and the private sectors exchanged thoughts through two panel discussions titled “The DNA of Innovation” and “Superfluid Industries”, where participants spoke about ways to thrive and contribute to the overall development of the region.

Partner at Wamda Capital Fares Ghandour was one of the guest speakers in the first panel, where he stressed that “the issue with Jordan is that 40 per cent of its workforce within the state, and that will not work in the long term.”

“What the Kingdom needs is a transformation from a state dependence to a private organisations dependence, and fintech [financial technology] is the tool that will enable the country to build a digital environment away from the state sponsorship,” the expert added. 

CEO of the Queen Rania Foundation Haifa Al Attia highlighted the need to pay attention to the youth, stressing that “around 35 per cent of the skills that we are looking for nowadays will not be relevant by 2020”.

“The first-graders of our time will be working at jobs that don’t even exist today, and that is why we should stop educating them to be factory labourers and start looking at the skills that they can bring to the table,” Attia continued.

Chairman of the Board of Jordan Ahli Bank Saad Mouasher also stressed the need to change the mindset, noting that “innovation is starting to happen in sectors such as agriculture and it is not about the product anymore, but about the business model and the customer engagement.”

The discussion took place one day before the announcement of this year’s Entrepreneur of the Year award winners. Created to recognise the accomplishments of the most successful entrepreneurs around the world, the global Entrepreneur of the Year programme celebrates its 31st edition this year, having grown to encompass more than 145 cities from 60 countries. 

AMMAN — Amman was recently ranked second in an index rating the startup ecosystem friendliness of emerging markets, right below Tunis, a statement by the Berlin NGO enpact said.

Upon the launch of its startup meter, which is an interactive indicator-based analysis platform measuring startup-friendliness of cities’ ecosystems, enpact rated seven of the world’s emerging markets, including Tunis, Cairo, Nairobi, Beirut, Accra and Rabat. 

Amman came second with a score of 54.7 out of 100, far ahead of its direct followers Cairo and Nairobi which were respectively granted scores of 46 and 45.2.

Based on almost 100 indicators, the Startup Friendliness Index  measured the framework conditions for entrepreneurship in urban metropolises of growing markets, the statement read, noting that the analysis framework was developed in cooperation with a number of researchers and scientific institutions.

“After collecting the data, we presented them on an interactive online platform to allow comparisons,” said Jan Lachenmayer, director of the startup meter, noting that Amman was found to have the strongest ICT infrastructure out of the seven cities.

Among other findings, Jordan’s capital was also considered as having the “most favourable macro-conditions including political framework, legal framework and prevalence of crime”, along with Tunis.

The startup meter was launched earlier this year by enpact, as an answer to the “gap in relevant data on entrepreneurial ecosystems in emerging and lower-income markets”, its website said.

“The startup meter seeks to provide data-driven advice for investors, donors and other implementing bodies in the field of economic and development cooperation,” Lachenmayer said, noting that the index encompasses criteria of human capital, finance, infrastructure, among others.

Launched in 2013, the non-governmental organisation enpact seeks to support young entrepreneurs through mentoring programmes, the creation of entrepreneur spaces in the MENA region and the organisation of delegation trips to explore ecosystems throughout MENA and Berlin, according to its website.

A delegation of 12 startups from Cairo and Berlin is scheduled to arrive in Jordan on Wednesday for a visit during which they will expore the local ecosystem through workshops, tours and networking events, Brandi Zavala, enpact marketing manager told The Jordan Times. 

The event will be co-hosted by partners such as the Queen Rania Centre for Entrepreneurship, as Oasis500, Beyond Capital and Zain. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF), on Monday visited JAF headquarters, according to a Royal Court statement.

Upon His Majesty’s arrival, the King was received by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat, the Commander of the Royal Air Force, as well as senior officials of the General Command.

His Majesty and Freihat discussed a number of issues of concern related to the armed forces in various areas of operations, training and logistics. During the visit, His Majesty checked on the armed forces’ level of readiness. The King praised JAF officers and the remarkable level of preparedness JAF has reached. 

AMMAN — Samir Mubaidin was sworn in before His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday as a member of the board of commissioners of the Independent Elections Commission (IEC), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Ismail Al Refai was also sworn in before His Majesty as the Kingdom’s ambassador to Turkey. The ceremony was attended by Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and President of the IEC Khaled Kalaldeh.

AMMAN — Deputising for HRH Prince Feisal, Chairman of the King Hussein Business Park (KHBP) Atef Tell inaugurated the first annual International Conference on Electronic and Information Security organised by the American Armed Forces Association for Communications and Electronics (AFCEA) under the title “Secure the Future with Cyber Protection”.

The event, which is held under the patronage of Prince Feisal, the honourary president of AFCEA-Jordan, witnessed the attendance of 300 local, Arab and foreign personalities in the field of information security, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AFCEA’s Jordan Director Rula Ammuri said that the modern revolution in digital technology has brought numerous benefits to its users but is subject to security threats, breaches and cyber attacks.

She added that, since its launch in July, the association has built bridges of communication between specialists and those interested in information security around the world.

AMMAN — Three Jordanian youth have returned from Paris, where they took part in a two-week incubation programme that helped them develop a social innovation project they created.

Along with Egyptians, Libyans, Moroccans, Tunisians and Yemenis aged between 20 and 30 years old, Nadia Al Masri, Moath Al Thaher and Mustafa Al Sakran worked on projects focusing on the issues of citizenship, local governance and the media.

“Through the event in Paris, I had the opportunity to learn more about technical management, social networking sites, as well as many other websites which will help me improve my project. I also discovered financial strategies and learned about the ‘toolbox’ needed to manage a project electronically,” Masri said, adding that she also had the chance to meet “a lot of great people who have amazing projects all over the Arab world”.

The young woman is the project coordinator of “The Corridor”, a youth-led organisation working to raise awareness about the cultural and artistic components in the Jordanian civil society, while combating particularism and social violence.

“We try to engage all segments of society to spread knowledge about freedom and equality,” she told The Jordan Times, noting that The Corridor’s ultimate goal is “to revive the true cultural identity across all of Jordan”.

Although their project started more than three years ago, Masri and her team still had a lot to learn to develop it. This is where the Safirlab programme came in.

Designed as a social innovation “accelerator” programme, Safirlab enables participants to benefit from the expertise of stakeholders in the French civil society to build on the skills they already have, while learning to publicise their initiatives and enrich their contact and partner networks, according to Sophie Bel, director of the French Institute in Amman (IFJ).

“SafirLab came from the idea that, across the Arab world, young people are investing time, efforts and money to develop their own companies with the aim of improving daily life or enhancing personal liberties,” the Safirlab website said, noting that this is what pushed several French organisations to “team up to assist these youth in developing their projects, providing them with the strategic support they need to become leading actors in society”.

Another young Jordanian, Suhib Bani Hamad, participated in the programme in 2014, working on a project called “Himan”. 

Starting from a Facebook page, the local project provided a citizen based news coverage of the city of Irbid, offering citizens a platform to discuss local issues such as their needs in terms of services, infrastructure and planning, while also displaying job offers and various ads.

Using the three working languages of French, English and Arabic, Safirlab’s mentoring includes workshops, personalised tutoring and customised meetings with businesses, associations and institutions. 

Upon their return, the trainees maintain a strong dialogue with the local French Institutes and other services provided by the French embassies in their country, as well as through social networks and regular invitations to networking events, Bel said, stressing that it helps foster the creation of a network of young people in Arab countries.

Safirlab, which is supported by the French cooperation for media and the French Institutes, has supported around 20 project leaders from the MENA region since its inception in 2012, helping them address issues related to the right to education, healthcare, citizen media, women’s rights, among others. 

“Safirlab provides strategic support to all those who will play a major role, tomorrow, in the economic, social and cultural life of their country,” the website stated.

 Voicing her appreciation of the programme and the institutions supporting it, Masri said her team is now planning to expand two of its musical projects and to start a production kitchen and a local hotel, in partnership with the contacts she made while in Paris.

AMMAN —  The Court of Cassation has upheld a March 2017 Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to five years in prison,  after convicting him of attempting to murder his wife in an Amman neighbourhood in September 2016.

The court declared the defendant guilty of stabbing his wife, who is also his cousin, as she was sleeping at their home on September 9 following a domestic dispute and handed him a 10-year prison term.

However, the court decided to immediately reduce the sentence to half because the victim dropped the charges against her husband.

On the day of the incident, the victim woke up from stab wounds that were inflicted on her by her husband who was yelling that “he wanted to kill her because of a domestic dispute earlier in the day”, court papers said.

“The defendant stabbed his wife repeatedly on different parts of her body with a kitchen knife,” the court document noted.

The victim ran towards the door but “the defendant followed her and stabbed her in the back. She screamed for help and awoken her father-in-law who rescued her,” the court added. 

The victim, who underwent surgery and had part of her intestine removed as a result of the stabbing, attempted to withdraw her complaint against the defendant at the criminal prosecutor’s office but “her request was denied because the common right clause is applicable in this case since a crime was committed”, the court stated.

The defendant had contested the Criminal Court ruling arguing that “the victim provided contradictory statements in the court hearing and should instead be tried for perjury”.

The defendant also claimed that “he was unaware of what he was doing when he stabbed his wife and the Criminal Court failed to refer him to a psychiatric institute for mental evaluation”, the court said in its ruling.

However, the Court of Cassation ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were correct and the defendant deserved the punishment he received.

“It was evident during court hearings that the defendant was sane and aware of what is happening. Therefore, there is no need to refer him to a psychiatric evaluation institute,” the higher court ruled.

The higher court comprised of judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zubi, Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat and Bassem Mubeidin.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Hani Mulki on Monday laid the cornerstones for two garment factories in Jerash and Ajloun, and inaugurated a healthcare centre and a school in Mafraq.

The factory in Ajloun, 70km northwest of Amman, affiliated with Advanced Technology Company for Garments, will be built in Urjan region and create 250 jobs, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the ceremony, Labour Minister Ali Ghezawi briefed Mulki about the factory, which is part of the government’s measures to generate jobs.

The factory’s operational cost will be JD480,000 funded by the Labour Ministry and the Employment Fund with the land made available by Oyoon Municipality.

The premier announced that the government has approved a project to build a town hall in Urjan and that the funding will be allocated in the public budget to be accomplished in 2018.

In Jerash’s Souf town, 48km north of Amman, Mulki laid the cornerstone for the Elephant Tusk factory, an Indian investment that will create around 500 jobs for the local community.

Investor Avishai Mahtani expressed his appreciation of the authorities’ support, stressing that Jordan can become a main garment exporter to Europe.

Ghezawi said that the government launched the National Programme for Empowerment and Employment last September with a funding of JD100 million to generate jobs for Jordanians across the Kingdom.

The government has plans to establish more than 52 production facilities with a cost of JD60 million, said the minister.

He noted the government’s measures aim to facilitate investment, in addition to providing training and empowerment for young people to enable them work at these factories, while providing 50 per cent of the minimum wage for one year, JD25 for transport and JD25 for social security subscription.

In Mafraq, 80km northeast of Amman, Public Works and Housing  Minister Sami Halaseh and Health Minister Mahmoud Sheyyab briefed Mulki on Sweilmeh healthcare centre, built on 1, 500sqm of land with a cost of JD200, 000.

The multi-specialties centre will contribute to improving the health services provided to the inhabitants of the region.

The premier also inaugurated Saud Al Qadi Public School in Hosha region.

The school’s situated on 5, 000sqm area is built with a cost of JD2.25 million.

The school consists of 19 classrooms, a vocational training workshop, laboratories and a 200-seat theatre, in addition to outdoor facilities.

The prime minister also checked on a project of solar energy in Hosha , which is an investment of a consortium of the US and the UAE companies with the Social Security Corporation.

AMMAN — Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon on Monday met with Senate President Faisal Fayez who stressed Jordan’s pride in the strong relations between the two countries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.  

During the meeting, they reviewed the latest regional events, focusing on the consequences of the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. They also discussed bilateral ties between Jordan and Tajikistan and ways of enhancing them. 

President Rahmon and Fayez praised the levels of diplomatic and political bilateral relations which, Rahmon said, are based on respect and common interests.

Fayez discussed the current events, stressing Jordan’s economic struggle cause by the regional challenges and the large influx of Syrian refugees.  He also said that the US decision contradicts all international legal resolutions related to Jerusalem and the Palestinian issue.

Also on Monday, the Tajik president visited the ancient city of Petra, and toured the historical and archaeological sites in the rose-red city including the Siq, the Treasury, the Court and the Byzantine Church.

Rahmon listened to a briefing about the history of the city and the role of Nabataeans in carving and protecting it. He was also informed on the importance of Petra as the second marvel of the new seven wonders of the world, and as one of the most important tourist attractions in the world in general and Jordan in particular.

Rahmon expressed his pleasure in visiting Petra, calling it a “historic and pleasant opportunity”.

The Tajik president departed from the Kingdom on Monday, after a two-day official visit.

AMMAN (EU Neighbours South) — With a GDP of $10 trillion, the Mediterranean basin is one of the most lucrative investment areas in the world, despite the economic crisis hitting Europe and the political turmoil devastating most parts of the Middle East and North Africa.

The potentially mouth-watering opportunities of trade and economic exchange between Europe and the Arab region face challenges such as high taxation, corruption, nepotism, favouritism and ever-changing investment laws in the developing countries.

But, when it comes to business and improving the investment climate, evolution not revolution is the way to improve the balance sheets, said business leaders and experts from the south and north of the Mediterranean, on the sidelines of a recent business roadshow in Amman.

The roadshow, which brought together 50 companies from Italy, Tunisia and Jordan, aimed to examine opportunities and allow businesses in agro-industry, energy, utilities, construction, environmental technologies, tourism, health and ICT to exchange views on ways to overcome obstacles that impede further growth. 

Organisers say the two-day event, hosted in the context of the EU-funded EUROMED Invest project, also seeks to relaunch economic partnership after the partial collapse due to the so-called Arab Spring, and help establish sustainable growth in the MENA.

Economic prosperity would also address one of the core reasons behind immigration from south to north, by creating jobs and providing solid ground for economic stability, according to Oussama Dahmani, project manager at the ANIMA Investment Network, an implementing partner of EUROMED Invest.

“By boosting foreign investment in the Southern Mediterranean and creating a real driver for sustainable and shared development, EUROMED Invest is furthering the potential of regional integration and cohesion among the Euro-Mediterranean countries. It also sets out to develop businesses, which will create more jobs and maximise the social impact,” Dahmani added.

Meanwhile, Annalisa Gamba, international projects and fundraising manager of Ceipiemonte, said the roadshow is the perfect occasion to help trigger change in terms of legislation and investment climate. 

The event was organised by Ceipiemonte (the Piemonte Agency for Investments, Export and Tourism), The Jordan Chamber of Industry, Union camere Piemonte, The Italian Chamber of Commerce for France in Marseille, and the Confederation of Egyptian European Business Associations.

“We cannot influence the decisions of policy makers, but events like this can make a step forward to facilitate business between countries through the inclusion of institutions and key players,” Gamba said.

Better quality: more trade

In an over-crowded part of eastern Amman, Mohammed al Tebawee manages a civil society organisation that employs impoverished women in fruit drying and cloth tailoring. Tabawee hopes his products could make it to the European market and grow his business to help more women struggling to make a living.

After having spent 20 years living in Europe, Tabawee said the sky is the limit when it comes to economic exchange between south and north. But local industries have a lot of homework to do, he stressed.

 “We must improve our production standards, pay better salaries to staff and improve legislation,” he stated.

Tebawee said the roadshow is an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and establish contacts, but argued that the best way to improve cooperation is by organising field visits to local communities and industries.

“It is good to sit and talk in conferences, but the practical ideas come on the field. I hope more roadshows take place in various parts of Jordan,” the manager said.

Capacity building through masterclass

Meanwhile, economic experts said young business leaders from the Southern Mediterranean are still in need of capacity building to be able better to formulate and develop their business projects. 

EUROMED Invest is providing them with theoretical and practical learning, through the young entrepreneurs’ master classes and other events. A masterclass event was held in Cairo in 2016, under EUROMED Invest to educate young businesspeople on e-marketing in tourism industry.

Thaer Azzam Samudi, a Jordanian tourism operator, managed to establish cooperation with a Spanish tour operator following his participation in the Cairo masterclass.

But Samudi lamented the lack of communication with tourism authorities, saying that increasing tariffs in airports are repelling tourists.

“In the tourism industry, we suffer from ever changing laws and high taxation that drives tourists away,” he claimed.

Tourism revenues in Jordan have taken a nose dive over the past few years. Visitors to Petra, one of the wonders of the world, have dropped by more than 50 per cent, while the majority of businesses in the rock carved city are struggling to survive.

 “We can strike partnerships with regional operators from Egypt, Israel and sell our products as a package at a competitive price, but the government must improve legislation and think long term,” Samudi stated.

EU Neighbours South is part of European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI). EU Neighbours South contributed this article to The Jordan Times.