December 19, 2022 Jordan Source Hosts First-ever ICT Sector Meeting

The Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship’s Jordan Source program showcased its achievements and engaged industry leaders in interactive conversation about the Kingdom’s ICT future

Amman, Jordan – December 19, 2022 – Jordan Source—a program implemented under the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship—recently hosted its first-ever ICT Sector Meeting, bringing together key industry leaders, innovators, and executives in order to highlight its ongoing efforts to develop and expand the country’s information and communication technology sector, with a particular focus on elevating the Kingdom’s profile as a destination for IT and business process outsourcing.

The sector meeting was held on Monday, December 19, at the Fairmont Hotel Amman, and welcomed dozens of Jordan Source’s partners, who represent a wide range of local, regional, and international ICT companies operating in the Kingdom.

The meeting was kicked off with a short video presentation, followed by welcoming remarks delivered by the Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, His Excellency Ahmad Hanandeh. The Jordan Source team then shared an in-depth look at the challenges facing the sector, and how the program is actively working to address and solve these challenges. This included sharing and analyzing the results of the program’s recent sector survey, which polled key business leaders from across the local ICT sector.

After highlighting some of the many achievements of the program since its inception, Jordan Source handed the floor to Amira Qarqash, the Digital Skills Development Manager for the ministry’s Youth, Technology, and Jobs (YTJ) project, who discussed the comprehensive training grants and programs being implemented by the ministry in order to upskill local ICT talents and create a more competitive workforce, capable of meeting the current and future demands of the market. The Director of Initiatives and Development at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Hatem Habahbeh, also spoke at the meeting, as did representatives from USAID’s Business Growth Activity (BGA) and Economic Reform Activity (ERA). The Jordan Source team then opened up the floor for open discussions, in addition to collecting anonymous feedback from participants all of which served to underscore the importance of collaboration as a cornerstone of the program’s success. The event concluded with a networking lunch.

Commenting on the significance of this occasion, His Excellency Ahmad Hanandeh said, “As always, it is an immense pleasure to be able to cultivate such strong partnerships with the talented leaders of Jordan’s ICT sector. One of the biggest achievements of the Jordan Source program has been its ability to respond quickly and tangibly to the concerns expressed by these partners, and to work closely alongside them to enhance the Kingdom’s ICT ecosystem on all levels. The achievements of Jordan Source have been immense, both in terms of elevating the local ICT landscape and in terms of positioning the country internationally as a preferential hub for IT and business process outsourcing. We look forward to hosting many more of these sector meetings in the future.”

Since its inception, Jordan Source has achieved progress on all fronts: the program has forged numerous partnerships with local and international businesses, enhanced the local ICT ecosystem through grant and incentive packages, attracted new ICT investments to the Kingdom, and participated in several regional and international industry events that served to put Jordan on the map as a premier IT and business process outsourcing destination. In November alone, the program signed several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with multinational companies looking to set up new operations in the country. All these activities are actively providing job opportunities for young, talented Jordanians and elevating the capabilities and profile of the Kingdom’s ICT sector.