Silicon Valley-based Founder Institute has launched a pre-seed start-up accelerator in Jordan to support the early-stage entrepreneurs.
“Jordan is ripe with talent … the Founder Institute can increase an aspiring technology entrepreneur's chance for success by providing a structured programme, the necessary skills, mindset and access to Silicon Valley expertise,” it said in a statement.
“We will provide high-potential entrepreneurs and teams the support network and structured growth process needed to get traction and funding.”
The companies can take advantage of the Founder Institute's programmes, mentor support and network. Applications to the Jordan virtual 2020 Founder Institute are now open and interested start-ups can apply here. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the programme is being held online.
Jordan has a booming start-up scene. The country has been a bedrock of software development in the Middle East and produced some of the most successful companies in the region.
The country also has a distinct edge in coding in the Arab world. In 2017, it became one of the earliest countries in the region to introduce coding into its primary school curriculum.
Jordan has experienced significant growth in investment activity, with funding for start-ups more than doubling over the last five years to $41m (Dh150.6m) last year from $19m in 2015, according to data platform Magnitt’s venture investment report.
Jordan was placed fifth in the Middle East and North Africa region by number of investment deals (35) in 2019, accounting for almost 6 per cent of the total deals in the region.
The country is home to a number of high-profile start-ups, including Arabic digital platform Mawdoo3 and e-commerce publish-on-demand platform Jamalon that both raised a combined $20m worth of total funding last year. This was the record year for funding for the Jordanian start-up ecosystem.
The Founder Institute – the world's largest pre-seed start-up accelerator – has helped over 4,300 entrepreneurs get the focus, generate traction, recruit a team and build a product.
Founded in 2009, it has chapters in more than 200 cities worldwide. It is also hosting an online programme for start-ups in Abu Dhabi, with an admissions deadline of October 4.
Its alumni have raised over $950m and are worth an estimated $20 billion.
The Founder Institute caters to founders and teams at the pre-seed stage. "The organisation's mission is to globalise Silicon Valley and build sustainable start-up ecosystems that will create one million new jobs worldwide,” the institute said.
Over the past two decades, Jordan has built an extensive internet infrastructure, attracting tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon.
INFO
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
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ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
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May 9, v Malaysia
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May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
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