Endeavor Jordan event brings together regional entrepreneurs, international investors

AMMAN — Entrepreneurs who launch their ideas in developing nations face “considerable” barriers to growth, according to Endeavor Jordan, which recently organised an event bringing together regional entrepreneurs and investors from around the world. 

During the two-day convention, where over 75 investors and entrepreneurs from 15 countries were present, Endeavor Jordan’s fifth “DealMakers” event included a number of workshops for entrepreneurs and angel investors, as well as discussions on the MENA region’s investment environment and Jordan’s position among other countries in the region, according to a report made available to The Jordan Times.

Rama Kayali, co-founder of Little Thinking Minds, an educational initiative which recently won the Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education, told The Jordan Times: “It was a great chance to not only expose ourselves to different investors from different parts of the world, but also to discuss and understand the... circumstances surrounding us and fellow entrepreneurs in the region.”

In her opening speech, Endeavor Jordan’s Managing Director Reem Goussous praised the “synergy between local entrepreneurial and investment ecosystem players”, and highlighted the “collaborative work” being done to overcome challenges faced by entrepreneurs in Jordan.

Countries  participating from abroad included Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UK, the US, Argentina, Lebanon, the UAE, Palestine, India, Canada, Greece, Turkey, Qatar and Austria.

During her speech, Goussous added: “While Jordan is used as a launching pad into outside markets, Jordan continues to be a very lucrative place for any entrepreneur wanting to expand their back end operations in an efficient and effective manner.”

 “The most important part of the event, for me, are the one-on-one discussions between investors and entrepreneurs, because it gives the latter time to pitch their companies and get investments,” Nadine Odat, communications manager at Endeavor Jordan, told The Jordan Times.

She added, “They [entrepreneurs] have the power to inspire countless others as leading role models. Together, these entrepreneurs hold the key to sustained economic growth in emerging markets.”

However, during the event experts noted that any dreams that high-impact entrepreneurs may have of becoming the next great success story face obstacles such as the cost of failure, lack of contacts or mentors, limited management expertise and little to no access to smart capital.                                             

“Having heard the advice and insight of major entrepreneurs both from the region and internationally has definitely helped identify the necessary steps that would help us tackle our own problems,” Nidal Bitar, CEO of INTAJ, told The Jordan Times.