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Ict Startup Entrepreneurs As Subjects of International Development in Amman’S ‘Silicon Wadi.’

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Ict Startup Entrepreneurs As Subjects of International Development in Amman’S ‘Silicon Wadi.’ DEVELOPING APPS, DEVELOPING JORDAN? ICT STARTUP ENTREPRENEURS AS SUBJECTS OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN AMMAN’S ‘SILICON WADI.’ A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Arab Studies By Alexandra Robehmed, B.Sc. Washington, DC August 31, 2015 Copyright 2015 by Alexandra Robehmed All Rights Reserved ii DEVELOPING APPS, DEVELOPING JORDAN? ICT STARTUP ENTREPRENEURS AS SUBJECTS OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN AMMAN’S ‘SILICON WADI.’ Alexandra Robehmed, B.Sc. Thesis Advisor: Fida J. Adely, Ph.D. ABSTRACT Entrepreneurship has become a buzzword in international development, but what does it mean to be a tech entrepreneur in a developing country? This thesis argues that entrepreneurs occupy complex positions, both criticizing and supporting development interventions, using Jordan’s information and communications technology (ICT) startup ecosystem as a case study. ICT startup entrepreneurs are central figures in development narratives in Jordan, embodying ideals of private sector growth, neoliberal individualism, and the knowledge society, in an economic context of high youth unemployment and a diminished public sector following structural adjustment policies. International development organizations support ICT startup entrepreneurs in Jordan through access to finance and educational initiatives. This thesis makes two key arguments: first, that ICT entrepreneurs criticize development interventions as changing funding and labor markets, distorting the free market that entrepreneurship is supposed to epitomize. Second, that entrepreneurs internalize the logics of development. As critics of development such as Arturo Escobar and James Ferguson note, it is through development that the subjects of development realize that they are underdeveloped. However, Jordan’s ICT startup entrepreneurs identify others as being underdeveloped, while they themselves have taken on developed subjectivities, having adopted practices, ideas, and attitudes prevalent in the paragon of ICT startup entrepreneurship, California’s Silicon Valley. I suggest that ICT entrepreneurship may be part of the construction and distinction of middle class identity. I conclude by recommending that Jordan look not to Silicon Valley as a model, but to more closely comparable ICT startup ecosystems. The findings presented are based on three months of ethnographic fieldwork in Amman in the summer of 2014, including 46 interviews conducted with startup founders, investors and development professionals. This study contributes to an under-examined area of anthropological research on development and entrepreneurship in the Middle East, and is one of the first to focus on ICT startups. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS While the idea for this project began several years ago, the research, writing, and final product could not have been possible without the help and guidance of many people. First and foremost my thanks go to those in Amman’s ICT startup ecosystem in the summer of 2014, who generously agreed to speak with me and guided my research. Thank you for sharing your insights and often times your workspaces with me. I’m especially grateful for friendships that started during research and continue today. Thank you to Fida Adely, for her constant support and help throughout this project - our discussions always guided me to notice significant points I would have otherwise overlooked, and encouraged me to explore new directions. I also thank Joseph Sassoon, for reminding me of the importance of numbers in telling this story. Thanks also to Ilana Feldman and the thoughtful comments of my Anthropology of Intervention classmates, where I began working on what became the third chapter. My thanks too to Columbia University’s MESAAS graduate student conference, particularly the helpful comments of Timothy Mitchell, which helped further shape the third chapter. And thank you to the peer support of the thesis cohort at CCAS, whose comments helped shape this final product - Craig Browne, Lindsey Cummings, Kelli Harris, Gareth Smail and Erica Vasquez - and Vicki Valosik for leading our thesis group. This thesis could never have been completed without the support of my friends, whether editing, discussing ideas, or providing endless encouragement. Thank you to Marya Hannun and Natalie Robehmed for their invaluable editing, and to Ellie Swingewood, Sarah Drury, Chloe Teevan, Zachary Cuyler, Xuhui Sun and Shadia Murad. Thanks in particular to Noga Malkin, for her endless confidence and belief in me - talking through the main argument while making sushi is my fondest memory of the writing process! Thank you to my parents - while my decisions must seem slightly crazy at times, I am grateful to you for your unwavering support and pride in everything I do. This thesis was made possible thanks to the financial support of Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, including a summer grant funding this research, and a Bou Family Foundation scholarship in the 2014-2015 academic year. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: WELCOME TO ‘SILICON WADI’....................................................................1 The Ecosystem.................................................................................................................................3 Entrepreneurs and Development Subjectivities................................................................................6 Development: the Not So ‘Invisible Hand’......................................................................................9 Overview of Jordan’s ICT Startup Ecosystem...............................................................................12 Developing Ecosystems.................................................................................................................17 The Jordanian Context....................................................................................................................18 Methodology..................................................................................................................................22 Thesis Structure..............................................................................................................................27 CHAPTER ONE: UNDERSTANDING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN JORDAN.............................29 The Hype Around ICT Startup Entrepreneurship..........................................................................30 Development, Job Creation, and Hype...........................................................................................32 ‘Real’ Entrepreneurs.......................................................................................................................34 Motivations for Becoming and Being Entrepreneurs.....................................................................36 Not an Entrepreneur?......................................................................................................................39 History of Entrepreneurship...........................................................................................................42 The Potential for Scale...................................................................................................................44 The Role of ICT Entrepreneurs in the Neoliberal Economy..........................................................45 Conclusion......................................................................................................................................47 CHAPTER TWO: VALUE AND THE BUSINESS OF SUCCESS.................................................50 Success and Value..........................................................................................................................51 Capacity Building...........................................................................................................................52 Investing in the Ecosystem?...........................................................................................................55 Too Much Investment, Too Little Investment................................................................................56 Valuations and Metrics...................................................................................................................60 Investors Not “Adding Value”.......................................................................................................63 “Jordan Is a Small Market”............................................................................................................65 Conclusion......................................................................................................................................68 CHAPTER THREE: “MINDSET,” “MENTALITY” AND “CULTURE”: FRICTIONAL ENCOUNTERS WITH SILICON VALLEY...................................................................................71 Haya and Mohammed....................................................................................................................72 Comparing Silicon Valley and Jordan............................................................................................75 Friction and Silicon Valley.............................................................................................................76 Development and Failures of the Nation........................................................................................79 Education and “Mindset”...............................................................................................................80
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