The Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF), the largest investment fund of its kind in Jordan, has extended financial support worth USD 250,000 to Oasis500 – a pre-seed and seed fund manager and accelerator within the MENA region – to promote an innovative entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Kingdom and enable its active players. In doing so, the ISSF is supporting new and existing incubators and accelerators through its Incubation and Acceleration Development Program (IADP), advancing the capabilities of entrepreneurs and management teams to build, grow and sustain startups and early-stage companies, while providing them with the assistance required to achieve their goals.
Through this financial support, Oasis500 will accelerate 16 startups in four cohorts over 28 months via IADP, starting February 2021. Oasis500 will offer services comprising extensive oversight, workshops, training courses and learning groups, among others – as well as introduce startups to a broad investor network that can accelerate their businesses and boost their growth. The ISSF also targets young female and male entrepreneurs to develop their innovative companies and generate direct and indirect job opportunities for Jordanian men and women, thereby giving rise to the Jordanian entrepreneurial ecosystem, which is a major regional hub for innovation and creativity.
“We are delighted with our partnership with Oasis500, which has been contributing to an innovative and sustainable national economy by lending young entrepreneurs the support, training, capacity building and institutional development they need to enhance their skills and potentials. This, in turn, has resulted in technology and creativity-based companies that can expand their business scopes and attract investors in the future,” commented ISSF CEO, Laith Al Qasem. “The ISSF works closely with active national players within the entrepreneurial arena, presenting them with the funding necessary to extend vital services to Jordanian entrepreneurs, ultimately reflecting positively on the local economy and its ability to compete and prosper.”
On her part, Oasis500 CEO, Luma Fawaz, emphasized the importance of offering continuous support to improve the standards of startups, stating, “We are excited to join forces with the ISSF, which will enable us to empower more entrepreneurs and startups and equip them with crucial management and financial skills.”
The ISSF is registered as a Jordanian private shareholding company. The objective of the ISSF is to support and elevate Jordan’s entrepreneurial and innovation landscape by facilitating the establishment of new investment funds that serve the ecosystem; making direct investments in innovative, export-oriented, and scalable local startups; as well as implementing initiatives that improve the capabilities of Jordanian entrepreneurs and startup teams through training, capacity building and targeted incubation and acceleration programs.