Global Entrepreneurship Week Highlights Jordan's Emerging

UNCLAS AMMAN 002801 SIPDIS FOR EEB/CBA (KOLTAI) AND NEA/ELA (GREGONIS AND ALLEN) STATE PASS USAID E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EINT EINV TINT JO SUBJECT: Global Entrepreneurship Week Highlights Jordan's Emerging Entrepreneurial Culture REFS: A) STATE 112998 B) Amman 2487 C) AMMAN 2306 D) STATE 112468 ¶1. (U) Summary: Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) in Jordan was marked by a series of events that raised excitement and awareness about the emerging entrepreneurial culture in Jordan. With support from USAID, the week featured a range of events from a gala opening ceremony to low-key networking and educational events. The common themes of the week were the importance of developing a culture of entrepreneurship in Jordan and a desire to build on the momentum generated by the recent success of Jordanian startups like Arabic internet portal Maktoob (ref C). Though it received very limited coverage in the mainstream Jordanian press, GEW events were covered extensively and positively on a number of Jordanian blogs. End Summary. From Galas to Groundwork -------------- ¶2. (U) Global Entrepreneurship (GEW) kicked off on November 15 with a gala opening featuring 13 speakers from Jordan and the U.S. The speakers included high profile American entrepreneurs such as Reid Hoffman, founder and CEO of LinkedIn, and Mitchell Baker, Chairwoman of the Mozilla Foundation. The event also featured successful Arab entrepreneurs Sami Shalabi whose company Zingku was acquired by Google in 2006 and Habib Hadad the founder of Yamli, an Arabic search engine. The speakers delivered speeches that were fast paced and high energy, and the atmosphere was more concert-like than a typical business dinner. The colorful stage, live band, and a dynamic emcee added to the animated environment. ¶3. (U) GEW events continued on November 16 with an open session at Princess Sumaya University for Technology featuring five of the highest profile speakers from the night before. Joi Ito, Mitchell Baker, Sami Shalabi, Reid Hoffman, and Habib Hadad spoke for 10-15 minutes each to an auditorium full of students and entrepreneurs about a range of topics including financing, finding collaborators and co-founders, and the challenges of starting a business in Jordan, far from the support networks that exist in places such as Silicon Valley. The rest of GEW featured sessions and workshops in Amman; Irbid, Jordan's third largest city near the Syrian border; and Zarqa, an industrial city that has struggled with high unemployment. The sessions focused on developing an entrepreneurial culture in Jordan's secondary schools and universities. ¶4. (SBU) Several GEW sessions referred to the obstacles that face entrepreneurs in Jordan. From infrastructure issues like slow internet connections and a lack of 3G mobile phone service, to a cultural bias against entrepreneurship, to the almost total absence of angel investors or other sources for startup capital, it is clear that entrepreneurship in Jordan is fraught with challenges. In fact, Habib Hadad explained that even though most of his target market is in the Middle East, he started Yamli, his Arabic search engine and translation tool, in Boston because the infrastructure and support for entrepreneurs is so much better in the U.S. Additionally, Jordanian entrepreneurs have scant R&D resources which have yielded few significant commercial successes, in part because of the many structural and resource impediments inherent in Jordan's science and technology sector (REF B). ¶5. (SBU) GEW did not have royal patronage and received almost no coverage in traditional Jordanian media, making the high turnout for the opening and the panel discussion even more impressive. There was, however, extensive coverage on local blogs, which described various events as "high energy" and "a great networking opportunity" while emphasizing that the organizers were able to put together "an amazing lineup of speakers with zero boring government officials." One conference attendee contrasted the high-energy and dynamic atmosphere of GEW with the sedate feel of the International Investment Conference organized by the Jordan Investment Board and held the previous week on November 11 and 12. The businessman, who attended both events, told Econoff that "if Jordan really wants investors they should show them this (referring to the room full of entrepreneurs) not another pitch for a date farm." USAID Support Crucial to GEW's Success -------------- ¶6. (U) A number of events during GEW were supported by grants from USAID. USAID provided $11,280 for the opening ceremony and USAID was listed as a sponsor of other events during the week. In addition, during GEW, a USAID-funded project celebrated the return of 19 Jordanian businesswomen and entrepreneurs from the Thunderbird School of Global Management where they completed the SEEDs program, an intensive program on entrepreneurial skills. There are also several USAID funded projects in Jordan that directly or indirectly support entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. Keeping up Momentum and Building on Success -------------- ¶7. (SBU) There is general agreement among the organizers of GEW that the week was a major success. Mohammed Khawaja, the executive director of the Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship (QRCE),told Econoff on December 20 that the success of GEW was not just the prestige of the speakers or the number of attendees at the events (though he was proud of both),but the spirit of cooperation that was forged between different groups in Jordan working on entrepreneurship. As a result of their cooperation on GEW, the QRCE, the Young Entrepreneur Association (YEA),and the USAID-funded Business Development Center (BDC) have agreed to form the Start Alliance to promote entrepreneurship in Jordan. ¶8. (SBU) In addition to its participation in the new Start Alliance, QRCE has other projects underway to promote entrepreneurship. To complement their ongoing annual business plan competition, QRCE is starting the program Micro to Small to help new "micro" startups (usually with just one employee) grow to become "small" businesses with three to eight employees. They are also working to establish a national network of angel investors and have developed a new program, Global Business Opportunities, to bring together entrepreneurs from different countries to share ideas, contacts, and best practices. ¶9. (U) In addition to the groups mentioned above there are several other organizations focusing on entrepreneurship in Jordan. Endeavor and Empertec are both international organizations with a presence in Jordan. Jordan is also home to iPARK, one of the region's first incubators for startups, which is currently incubating 10 businesses, mostly in the high-tech sector. ¶10. (U) Comment: GEW in Jordan was successful in encouraging existing entrepreneurs and building enthusiasm and support for entrepreneurship in those who attended events. However, the lack of press coverage and the relatively small scale of the GEW events limited the impact on the broader population. There is no shortage of entrepreneurship support organizations in Jordan but there is a limit to what such organizations can accomplish without more readily available start-up funding and broader cultural support and encouragement for entrepreneurship. The organizers of GEW understand these challenges and are taking concrete steps to address them, including reaching out to elementary and middle school students, and working with private investors and the GOJ to establish angel funding networks. Despite these positive developments, there are still significant cultural and institutional challenges to be addressed before an "entrepreneurial culture" is a reality. End comment. Visit Amman's Classified Website at http://diplopedia.state.sgov.gov/index.php?ti tle =Embassy_Amman BEECROFT