AMMAN — Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO) on Wednesday extended grants worth 933,000 euros to 16 Jordanian companies in the services sector.
The financing –– under the second phase of the European Union-funded by Jordan Services Modernisation Programme (JSMP) –– seeks to generate investments valued at 2 million euros, JEDCO Chief Executive Officer Yarub Qudah said.
The beneficiaries were from Amman, Balqa, Karak, Maan and Aqaba, he added.
According to Qudah, the grants are part of JEDCO’s support for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) working in the services sector to boost their competitiveness in addition to enhancing productivity and management capacities.
The JSMP offers five grant schemes; the first for participation in trade missions and expos, the second for supporting export development, the third for associations or federations and joint initiatives, the fourth for support in the certification process and the fifth for reinforcements and start-ups, according to JEDCO website.
Qudah noted that the new financing is set to create over 250 jobs.
JEDCO has so far provided financial support worth 13.3 million euros for 268 beneficiaries working in the services sector across the Kingdom, he indicated, noting that the volume of investments exceeded 20 million euros and provided jobs for 1056 individuals across the country.
Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) President Issa Murad highlighted the importance of the services sector due to its direct impact on the national economy and its growth, noting that this sector “contributes with around 60 per cent of Jordan’s gross domestic product”.
Murad said the ACC board seeks to create a specialised unit for SMEs working in commercial and service sectors.
Nazzal Armouti, deputy chairman of the Jordan Chamber of Industry, described services as the sector that anchors the Kingdom’s economic and social stability.
“It [services sector] employs around 27 per cent of workers in the private sector, most of them Jordanians,” he told the reporters, adding that around 70 per cent of foreign investments are in the services sector.
Nourah Mehyar, chief executive officer of Nafith Logestics, which is one of the first scheme beneficiaries, told The Jordan Times that the company is to utilise the grant to attend international conferences.
“We are also going to promote one of our recent patents in conferences related to the logistics sector,” she said.
Another broadcasting beneficiary, Nawaris Broadcasting, is to develop the broadcasting performance of its radio stations.
“We are seeking to reach areas outside Amman and to improve eco-friendly broadcasting,” the company’s representative Majdi Tamari told The Jordan Times.
