Jordanian organizers concluded Sunday the Global Entrepreneurship Week, which saw a slate of academic and field activities in which 400 local, Arab and international leading entrepreneurs took part.
The event, which started on Monday, November 16, was organized by Creative Commons, Endeavor Jordan, the Young Entrepreneurs Association, and the Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship (QRCE).
The activities focused on intellectual aspects and entrepreneurship experiences with a view to enrich Jordan’s experience and boost its leadership in the field at the regional level.
Among participants were top executives in leading international companies based in Silicon Valley.
Key-note speakers at the opening ceremony included Reid Hoffman, the founder and CEO of LinkedIn and Joi Ito, a world activist, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, a top executive at Creative Commons and a Twitter adviser. The two entrepreneurs shared their stories of success with their audience, focusing on the importance of protecting intellectual property rights.
Other speakers were Mitchell Baker, Chairwoman of Mozilla Foundation, launcher of the Firefox web-browser; and Sami Shalabi, founder of Zingku, which was later acquired by Google, a deal that secured the founder a post as a technical adviser at the buyer. Also taking the podium was Habib Haddad, a co-founder of Yamli.
From Jordan, speakers included CEOs, leading businessmen, business leaders, investors and innovators involved in entrepreneurship in the Kingdom and the region.
Organizers sought to spotlight Jordan’s nascent culture of entrepreneurship, highlight individual success stories and draw up an action plan to place Jordan as a regional hub in the field.
Field activities were on the agenda, such as a special session that took place on the event’s third day and led by Mary Smith Diab, who trained around 185 participants on the techniques of speed networking.
The following two days were dedicated to “Afkar, yes we can!” a series of interactive creative thinking sessions conducted by DART, a student entrepreneurship community based in Princess Sumaya University for Technology. The DART team visited 10 schools in Amman, Irbid, Ma’an and Zarqa with the aim of stimulating students to take on entrepreneurship in their future life.
A special session was held on Saturday involving 50 participants that focused on the achievements made by women entrepreneurs. Success stories were shared in this session, which highlighted the role women play in achieving socio-economic development.
On the final day, another educational opportunity was provided to 30 trainees through “Entrepreneurship 101”, offered by UC Berkeley trainer Dr Wissam Rabadi, with the aim of helping students, academicians and other concerned individuals develop their businesses.
On the sidelines of the Global Entrepreneurship Week, Tijaritna, an entrepreneurs’ marketplace featuring handmade and home-baked products and treats, was organized all day at City Mall on Sunday, November 22nd.
Organizers voiced appreciation for the sponsors of the week, including ARAMEXm Société Générale Bank and Friedrich Naumann, in addition to other supporters: USAID, King Abdullah Center for Support and Development, Zain, Orange, IV Holding, Royal Jordanian (official carrier), Rotana Radio, Energy FM and OC and Venture magazines.
