Amman: The Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF), the largest investment fund of its kind in Jordan, has extended financial support worth USD 250,000 to Oasis500 - a pre-seed and seed fund manager and accelerator within the MENA region - to promote an innovative entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Kingdom and enable its active players. In doing so, the ISSF is supporting new and existing incubators and accelerators through its Incubation and Acceleration Development Program (IADP), advancing the capabilities of entrepreneurs and management teams to build, grow and sustain startups and early-stage companies, while providing them with the assistance required to achieve their goals.
Through this financial support, Oasis500 will accelerate 16 startups in four cohorts over 28 months via IADP, starting February 2021. Oasis500 will offer services comprising extensive oversight, workshops, training courses and learning groups, among others - as well as introduce startups to a broad investor network that can accelerate their businesses and boost their growth. The ISSF also targets young female and male entrepreneurs to develop their innovative companies and generate direct and indirect job opportunities for Jordanian men and women, thereby giving rise to the Jordanian entrepreneurial ecosystem, which is a major regional hub for innovation and creativity.
“We are delighted with our partnership with Oasis500, which has been contributing to an innovative and sustainable national economy by lending young entrepreneurs the support, training, capacity building and institutional development they need to enhance their skills and potentials. This, in turn, has resulted in technology and creativity-based companies that can expand their business scopes and attract investors in the future,” commented ISSF CEO, Laith Al Qasem. “The ISSF works closely with active national players within the entrepreneurial arena, presenting them with the funding necessary to extend vital services to Jordanian entrepreneurs, ultimately reflecting positively on the local economy and its ability to compete and prosper.”
On her part, Oasis500 CEO, Luma Fawaz, emphasized the importance of offering continuous support to improve the standards of startups, stating, “We are excited to join forces with the ISSF, which will enable us to empower more entrepreneurs and startups and equip them with crucial management and financial skills.”
The ISSF is registered as a Jordanian private shareholding company. The objective of the ISSF is to support and elevate Jordan’s entrepreneurial and innovation landscape by facilitating the establishment of new investment funds that serve the ecosystem; making direct investments in innovative, export-oriented and scalable local startups; as well as implementing initiatives that improve the capabilities of Jordanian entrepreneurs and startup teams through training, capacity building and targeted incubation and acceleration programs.
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About the Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund
The ISSF is a national project established in 2017 as a private shareholding company to actively promote a fundamental shift within the local entrepreneurial and innovation landscape. The ISSF - the largest investment fund of its kind in Jordan - is implemented in cooperation with the World Bank over a duration of six years, concluding in November 2023. During this period, the World Bank foresees the ISSF to make both direct and indirect investments (the latter in investment funds) in 150-200 local innovation companies and build the capacities of at least 825 entrepreneurs and SMEs through specialized training to qualify them for prospective investments. The total working capital of the ISSF is USD 98 million, with a USD 48 million investment from the Central Bank of Jordan and a USD 50 million investment from the World Bank. The ISSF is committed to facilitating funding for Jordanian early-stage startups and SMEs, particularly those demonstrating ambitious vision and high growth potential. The ISSF endeavors to foster a thriving and supportive entrepreneurial environment that enables promising local entrepreneurs to transform innovative projects into sustainable startups; generate jobs for Jordanian men and women; and prompt economic sectors that serve export markets by capitalizing on the creative and technical capabilities of entrepreneurs and management teams across Jordan.
For more information, please visit the website at www.issfjo.com
© Press Release 2021
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