Amman: SPARK, a non-governmental development organization, on Monday held its “Regional Stakeholders Event” under the ‘From Innovation to Creation’ program, funded by the European Union.
The two-day event is an open discussion about the startup ecosystem in the regional and national contexts and how existing programs and services can be strengthened.
In addition, the event will provide opportunities for knowledge exchange between SPARK’s regional partners and external stakeholders on innovation, policy and access to markets.
The event also features panel discussions on topics like how startups can access new markets and export their goods and services, how policy framework can create an enabling environment for startups, or how to increase foreign investment in Jordan and the rest of the Middle East.
The event features key stakeholders active in the Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian, and Tunisian startup ecosystems, including business support organizations, experts, government representatives, and civil society representatives.
Entrepreneurship is one of the ministry’s top priorities, according to Lisa Habashneh, director of the Investment and Entrepreneurship Department at the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, who also noted that numerous initiatives and projects already exist to foster entrepreneurial activity in Jordan.
She gave the example of the Youth, Technology, and Jobs project, which aims to start initiatives that aid in the implementation of entrepreneurship policy.
The purpose of this meeting, according to Thibaut Moyer, Deputy Head of Cooperation and Head of the Economic, Infrastructure and Trade Section of the EU Delegation to Jordan, is to strengthen innovation. He emphasized that the European Union is committed to strengthening cooperation with its neighbors and networking with various startup incubators.
He also stated that the EU delegation’s participation in the event aims to increase inclusion and allow for business networking in order to provide more opportunities for youth and women in all neighboring countries.
He said, “We started our partnership with Spark, and we hope that it will bear fruit in supporting business and creating opportunities,” and that the EU’s upcoming program in Jordan to support entrepreneurship is being developed in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship to continue supporting entrepreneurship.
SPARK’s Regional Program Director, Mourad Hentati, has stated that the organization is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) that supports youth employment in the Middle East region by bringing together all stakeholders in the ecosystem in one project. Spark has more than 25 partner organizations in the countries of Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and Tunisia.
To strengthen the startup ecosystem, he said, the organization brings together people from government, business support organizations, accelerators, incubators, and local NGOs from all over the world to work on everything from the innovation program to the creativity program.
SPARK is a non-governmental international development organization active in 14 regions of the Middle East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. It enables youth, women, and refugees to study, work, and grow their own businesses in vulnerable communities by offering higher education (vocational) scholarships, entrepreneurship development, and assistance to small and medium-sized businesses.
Source: Jordan News Agency