COUNTRY FOCUS : JORDAN

Jordan now ranks 49th on the Global Entrepreneurship Index , and has more than 25 business incubators , accelerators , and creative centres .

75 % of Arabic Internet content generated by Jordan ’ s ICT sector , the market not only offers an opportunity for US software providers to develop and leverage existing sales channels to regional markets , but a competitive proposition for investment in content applications and e-learning .

Digital payments and financial services

Jordan was the first country in the region to launch an interoperable mobile payments system , JoMoPay , providing an early platform for fintech and increased financial inclusion . Service providers have started moving away from traditional payment services to new digital services , such as e-wallets .

IT infrastructure projects

Jordan has a good ICT infrastructure , especially since the liberalisation of the telecom sector in 1999 . With regards to hardware and networking infrastructure , Jordan is inviting investors to partner on the operation , management , leasing , and commercialisation , and expansion of the country ’ s national broadband network .

Additionally , there is an opportunity to implement a national broadband network that connects 1,318 public schools , 231 public hospitals and healthcare centres and 169 government entities in Amman , Zarqa , Madaba and Balqa ’. Furthermore , local operators are replacing traditional core networks and substituting them with Internet protocol-based ones . 5G implementation and the revolution in Internet of Things , IoT services will also require advanced infrastructure .

Arabisation of online content

Many Jordanian companies conduct Arabisation of software and solutions . Arabisation not only involves translating internationally successful products into the Arabic language , but also adapting content to the Arab context for consumers all over the world . With

E-wallets increased from less than 350,000 in 2019 to over 1 million in 2020 . An increase in use of digital payments would benefit from implementation of the Electronic Know Your Customer , e-KYC services and the acceleration of digitisation efforts for governmentlinked payments .

E-government

E-government services will play an important role in Jordan ’ s mid-term development strategy . Jordan ’ s e-government initiatives are outlined in several policy documents , including the Public Sector Modernisation Roadmap 2022 – 2025 , which highlights e-government service delivery as a critical pillar for Jordan ’ s ongoing digital transformation .

Planned improvement to Jordan ’ s business environment entail launching new online business licensing and other services that could present opportunities for US firms .

Training

Developing highly skilled workforce is crucial in Jordan . To address the immediate need for skilled talent , the government of Jordan passed the Vocational and Technical Skills Development law in July 2019 to create an institutional framework for sector-specific skills development , including the ICT sector .

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