Day: October 19, 2022

The first edition of the Jordan Startup Expo, the global stage for Jordan’s most innovative and emerging startups, kicked off on Wednesday, bringing together entrepreneurs, top investors, and more than 100 Jordanian startups.

The exhibition, organized by The Future Event, is connecting innovative startups with the region’s leading cutting-edge solution providers, venture capital firms, angel investors, accelerators, and incubators in order to uncover technological solutions and software offered by startups through technologies of human resources, finance, commerce, and others.

The two-day expo is centered on four major fields: business development and performance, information and data technology, trademarks, and financing.

During the opening ceremony, Director of Investment and Entrepreneurship at the Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Ministry Lisa Habashneh said Jordanian startups were able to prove themselves regionally and globally through innovative work in fields such as mobile phone applications, e-trade, education technology, financial technology, health technology, media and design, artificial intelligence, and others.

According to a ministry statement, she stated that the first investment fund was established in 1988, creating many successful partnerships.

A government decision issued in 2016 gave the information technology sectors exemptions and incentives, she noted, adding that the ministry had put in place the National Entrepreneurship Policy and its strategic plan for 2021-2025 to support entrepreneurs in the Kingdom.

Enterprises in Jordan can today benefit from support programs offered by the Youth, Technology, and Employment Project, which facilitates business people’s reach to markets and digital skills, she added.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The United States non-governmental organization, Habitat for Humanity, opened one of its regional housing forums in Jordan on Wednesday with the aim of building houses for low-income families.

The MENA Housing Forum is part of a global series of housing forums organized by the non-profit organization in collaboration with partner organizations in different regions of the world.

During the opening ceremony, Minister of Public Works and Housing Yahya Kisbi said the housing and infrastructure sector is a key to achieving the desired sustainable civil development, lauding Habitat’s positive impact in Jordan and its contribution to providing appropriate residences and maintaining existing buildings.

Manager for Jordan and MENA at Habitat Mousa Naffa noted that 70 percent of Jordanian families, according to World Bank reports, can not afford the costs of decent housing, while other estimates indicate that 30 percent of Jordanians and 48 percent of Syrian refugees lack access to affordable houses.

The forum tackled challenges facing housing institutions and promoted reducing housing costs, as well as enhancing climate adaptability, and encouraging innovative construction plans for sustainable houses and facilities.

Habitat started working in Jordan in 2002 under an agreement with the government and is currently operating in four villages in cooperation with local communities and volunteers from local and foreign societies.

More than 10,000 families, or 50,000 individuals, benefited from Habitat’s services, which facilitated their reach to shelter and improved their living through financial aid, green buildings, and the rehabilitation of infrastructures and facilities in partnership with the ministries of social development, health, and education and local organizations.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Director-General of Jordanian Food and Drug Administration (JFDA), Nizar Mhaidat, said the Kingdom’s drug stock is “available and stable” and covers the needs of the local market for a minimum 4-month period and a maximum of 6 months, depending on drug categories and types.

In a JFDA press statement on Wednesday, he said the administration periodically follows up on the data of the available drug reservoir, indicating that “quick” precautionary measures are taken to ensure the provision of medicines in the Jordanian market if any indications of drug shortage emerges.

This process also involves coordination with local factories to motivate manufacturers to produce any drugs that may witness a shortage, as well as simplifying procedures related to importing drugs, he noted.

JFDA, he noted, implements “qualitative” procedures to speed up and facilitate process of registering medicines and providing safe and effective treatment alternatives by giving priority registration to unavailable drugs, in a manner that ensures drug security.

In the statement, JFDA called on citizens and health care providers send their observations about drug availability in the local market at toll-free complaint line 117114, e-mail info@JFDA.Jo, and WhatsApp on 0795632000.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Royal Scientific Society (RSS), in cooperation with the Airport International Group, held a session to celebrate the great achievement of the Airport International Group (AIG) and the journey of Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) to achieve Level 4+ (Transition) accreditation within the Airport Carbon Emissions Management Accreditation Program.

The session began by emphasizing the strategic partnership and technical support provided by the Royal Scientific Society to the Airport International Group since 2011 in various environmental fields such as water and air quality monitoring, noise measurements, and the monitoring of the wastewater resulting from the flights and the treatment plants at the airport, according to a statement by the RSS on Wednesday.

The Airport International Group delivered a presentation highlighting the efforts made to achieve QAIA accreditation towards becoming the first carbon-neutral airport in the region, as well as the first in the Middle East and second in Asia Pacific to reach the highest level of the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) Program (Level 4+ ‘Transition’), with future plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Also, between 2012 and 2021, the group successfully reduced its overall carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 25%, with a special focus on energy conservation, which constitutes nearly 92% of overall emission sources, the statement added.

Airport International Group CEO, Nicolas Claude said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Royal Scientific Society for hosting this joint session and spotlighting Airport International Group’s carbon management practices. For nearly a decade, we have been implementing international standards and industry best practices, in line with the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) Program, Paris Agreement and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to curb the Queen Alia International Airport’s carbon footprint and, ultimately, achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.”

“Our consistent track record as the first airport in the Middle East to achieve multiple ACA levels, the last of which was Level 4+ ‘Transition’ in June 2022, has helped showcase QAIA as an award-winning, sustainable and climate-friendly airport within the global aviation arena,” added Claude.

Rafat Assi, Vice President and Executive Director of the Sustainable Solutions Sector, stated that the RSS is a reference for research and development that is relied upon locally and regionally through its technical centers specialized in energy, environment, water, construction research and information technology, and through more than 38 internationally and locally accredited laboratories.

It was also noted that the Royal Scientific Society contributes, through the Environment, Water and Climate Change Center, and in cooperation with several acting parties, to developing scientific-based programs to address the negative impacts of climate change, support green economy, and build the capacities of local communities and institutions of the public and private sectors in Jordan with regard to environmental and climate change issues.

Source: Jordan News Agency

President of the Jordan Red Crescent Society (JRCS), Mohammad Mutlaq al-Hadid,, and Executive Director of Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS), Faisal Al-Emadi, discussed joint humanitarian projects and cooperation in the health and relief fields, which would have a “positive” impact on the refugees and the host community.

During a meeting on Wednesday, the Qatari delegation was briefed on Jordan Red Crescent Hospital and the medical convoy project to perform general surgeries to Jordanians and refugees of different nationalities and age groups, benefiting 600 people.

The Qatari delegation’s visit, which began 5 days ago, included tours to King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) to check on medical treatment provided to cancer patients and funded by QRCS and Qatari medical clinics in Zaatari refugee camp, which offer medical services and health care in various specialties for Syrian refugees and provide in-kind gifts for camp children.

Concluding its visit in Mafraq and Irbid governorates, the delegation toured dialysis project implemented by JRCS, in partnership with QRCS targeting Syrian refugees outside camps.

Source: Jordan News Agency