Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Jordan National Report 2019/2020
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Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Jordan National Report 2019/2020 Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO) & Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) October 2020 www.jedco.gov.jo Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Jordan National Report 2019/2020 The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply Jordan’s government has made great steps to supports its economic progress, guided by ambitious and achievable goals, as defined in “Jordan 2025”; a vision for Jordan’s eco-nomic future. Given that (96%) of the total corporate economy in Jordan is the economy of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME), achieving the goals and objectives of “Jordan 2025” depends on the performance of this important economic sector. The successive Jordanian governments have also been keen to enhance Jordan’s economic competitiveness, as they have taken serious steps to enhance leadership through their institutions. In 2019, the Ministry for Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship was estab-lished to “support entrepreneurship and in-novation in Jordan,” based on its belief in the importance of entrepreneurship and crea-tivity and necessity to provide supporting components, and to encourage creative ideas and creative talents, as they have a major role in achieving sustainable development. Today, the government of Jordan recognizes the importance of the national (GEM) report as a leading global study aimed at improving the understanding of entrepreneurship and promoting evidence-based policy. Jordan in year 2019, had achieved the 34th rank glob-ally in the early stage entrepreneurship activity index, about (9.1%), while this index reached about (8.2%) and ranked 46th glob-ally in year 2017. Accordingly, we look forward to the results of the Global Entrepreneur Monitor (GEM) National Report and we are confident that its recommendations will help in designing and implementing new policy interventions that will eventually help achieve more growth and development in the SME sector in Jordan and which, also, will positively impact the growth of the various production sectors which will contribute to the economic growth in Jordan. Implementing this study in Jordan is a clear endorsement for GEM studies—which is part of the global recognition of the value of GEM studies worldwide. It is also an indication that the Jordanian government is taking the improving of its institutions through evidencebased policies seriously. Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Dr. Tareq M. Al-Hamouri 2 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Jordan National Report 2019/2020 Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO) The Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO) is the national umbrella for economic enterprise development in Jordan. Since year 2003, the organization’s activities have stemmed from its faith in the developmental role that Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) play in fostering GDP growth, through strengthening exports and creating job opportunities. As Jordan’s entrepreneurial scene continues to thrive and regional and international success stories arise, JEDCO continues to support companies in all stages of their development, from conceptualization to internationalization. JEDCO is focused on entrepreneurship and SMEs development. Its goals are achieved by providing technical and financial assis-tance, in addition to policy advocacy in or-der to foster a conducive business environment for productive SMEs. The strategic core goals of JEDCO are to increase the competitiveness of Jordanian products in global markets. With focus the manufactur-ing, service, and agriculture sectors. During the years 2019 – 2020, JEDCO has launched 17 different programs to support more than 350 local SMEs in developing their products, enhancing their competitiveness locally and globally, and making the best use of Jordan’s free trade agreements and preferential market access, where studies’ indicators showed the impact of its support on some SMEs in regards of increasing the rate of exports and creating jobs. JEDCO is committed to continue working with the public and private sectors to help more entrepreneurs, home based businesses, and SMEs by providing financial and technical services. JEDCO believes in a future where the focus is not solely on final goals but also on the means towards achieving those goals; and an environment where the public and private sectors participate in legitimizing, implementing, and achieving developmental solutions. CEO, Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO) Dr. Bashar A. Al-Zu’bi 3 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Jordan National Report 2019/2020 SME Observatory @ JEDCO Jordan National Report, issued by the Glob-al Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for year 2019/2020, is the second in a series of re-ports issued by the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) Observatory at the Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO). The SME Observatory was estab-lished in year 2016 as a knowledge hub for data analysis, extracting indicators, and pre-paring periodic economic publications and research that is supported by evidence on economy and business related to entrepre- neurship in Jordan in order to help common stakeholders improve the role of business environment in supporting, growing, and developing the SME sector in Jordan. And to provide evidence-based information that provide a better understanding of the dy-namic procedures, patterns, outcomes, and opinions towards entrepreneurship in Jordan. The SME Observatory has led the efforts of the Jordanian government by participating in this national report of Jordan which is issued by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and in cooperation with the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) and the support of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). This study presents a comprehen- sive picture of entrepreneurship that benefits policy makers and service pro-viders of SMEs, including the tracking of individuals motivations and behaviors to-wards entrepreneurship in Jordan and com-paring it internationally. The SME Observa-tory also investigates the various elements of the entrepreneurial environment and pro-vides recommendations and policy support to improve the work environment of the SME sector in Jordan. Significant progress has been monitored in the conditions of the entrepreneurial envi- ronment in this study; however, the SME Observatory recommends further reforms to improve the entrepreneurship environment in Jordan. SME Observatory @ JEDCO Dr. Amin O. Shammout Dr. Rania A. Al-Satel 4 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Jordan National Report 2019/2020 Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) The Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) at the University of Jordan, with the participa- tion of the Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO), is pleased to present this very important study. The Jordan Na-tional Report from the Global Entrepreneur- ship Monitor (GEM) is the first of its kind in Jordan. Being the first of its kind derives from the fact that the study benefited from survey data from a representative national sample and from another sample which was obtained from 36 national experts. This study is based on data collected through a global tool implemented by the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS). This study includes a wide range of infor-mation about various aspects such as existing and new businesses, the main factors that could encourage the start of new entre-preneurial businesses in Jordan, and the main burdens that affect the decision to create new businesses. In addition, the collected data and study will be available on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), the Jordan Enterprise Development Corpora- tion (JEDCO), and the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) websites, which will benefit researchers to examine the various aspects of entrepreneurship activity in Jordan. The Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) was created in 1984 as a unit to conduct research in the areas of regional conflicts, interna-tional relations, and security. Since 1989, the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) has developed long-term strategy research. In areas including democracy and the rule of law, good governance, parliament, govern-ment, media, women’s issues, the judicial system, environment, pluralism, and social develop- ment policy. In addition, the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) focuses on eco-nomic development issues such as compre-hensive economic policy, labor market, in-vest- ment, and trade. Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO) and the Center for Strategic Stud- ies (CSS) collaborated in presenting this study of entrepreneurs and the entrepreneur- ial environment in Jordan in a socio-economic framework. During the fall of 2019, the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) employed the Adult Population Survey (APS) and interviewed local experts using the National Expert Survey (NES) for the second time in a row after their first collabo-ration with the Global Entrepreneur Monitor (GEM) Na- tional Report 2016/2017. The Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) is a leader in assessing and designing evidence- based policy interventions. It is a center for research, analysis and evaluation of public policy. It ranked first in the years 2016, 2017, and 2018 among 507 think tanks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) according to the Global Go To Think Tank index; part of the Think Tanks and Civil So-cieties Program (TTCSP) program of Whar-ton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Director, Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) Dr. Zaid