Home-based enterprises to get a boost from new gov’t incentives package

AMMAN — Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Tareq Hammouri on Saturday announced a package of incentives adopted by the government to support home-based enterprises. 

During the opening of a bazaar titled "My work is from my home", Hammouri pointed out that the package includes cutting licensing fees for businesses within Amman Municipality by half, in addition to giving the Amman Mayor power to grant total exemptions for the first three years of operation. 

The bazaar aims at promoting home-based products and enterprises, which is one of the Kingdom's crucial sectors to generate job opportunities for young people and empower families across the Kingdom, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The minister said that the event seeks to encourage the highest number of individuals possible to set up their own low-cost projects, pointing out that 5,000 projects have been started within the "unofficial private sector", 50 per cent of which are woman-owned businesses and 75 per cent of which depend on a word-of-mouth marketing strategy. 

He added that 80 per cent of these projects do not package their products, which also imposes limitations on penetrating new markets.

Official figures indicate that 688 trade licenses have been registered during the past eleven months of 2019 within this sector, while 452 and 50 home-based businesses were licensed in 2018 and 2017, respectively, he said.     

During the ceremony, Hammouri also announced the launch of another similar programme to support the sector across the Kingdom, providing material support, legal consultations and guidance and linking businesses with different markets, among others.