Amman, January 2, 2024: Tareq Al-Bitar, the CEO of Zain Jordan's Corporate Communications and Sustainability Department, affirmed the pivotal role Zain Innovation Campus (ZINC) has played since its establishment in 2014 in promoting the entrepreneurship concept among Jordanian youth. This was achieved through the gradual establishment of branches within 5 Jordanian universities across several provinces in the Kingdom. The aim was to reach a larger number of creative, entrepreneurial students interested in enhancing their academic, technological, and entrepreneurial skills while bridging gaps through various programs, training courses, and workshops conducted within these branches. These initiatives focus on crucial fields that support students' academic specializations while fostering an entrepreneurial mindset among them.
Al-Bitar praised the strategic partnership between the platform and Jordanian universities, acknowledging its instrumental role in achieving ZINC's objectives and aspirations. He highlighted the platform's concentrated efforts throughout 2023, particularly targeting university students. ZINC intensified its activities across its branches situated at the University of Jordan, Hashemite University, Al-Balqa Applied University, Yarmouk University, and Mutah University. The platform launched multiple programs and initiatives tailored for students of these universities, intensifying training courses and workshops conducted in these branches. Out of a total of 166 events held across its 8 branches nationwide, 139 activities were organized, attracting approximately 5,500 male and female students. These events covered entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, digital marketing, process automation through robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, programming languages, and other fields aligned with the rapidly evolving technological advancements and digital transformation worldwide.
Additionally, sessions were conducted on building digital identity on the LinkedIn platform, workshops focused on personal skill development to equip students for the job market, and advanced conversation sessions in the English language to strengthen students' English proficiency skills.
Tareq Al-Bitar elaborated on the flagship programs and initiatives launched by the platform within its university branches, catering to the students engaged with the platform. Among these was the "Future Founders" program initiated by Zain Innovation Campus in collaboration with the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at the University of Jordan, Yarmouk University, Hashemite University, and Al-Balqa Applied University. The program aimed to enhance and empower the entrepreneurial environment among university students, enabling them to devise innovative solutions to challenges faced by Jordan in various domains by leveraging technology. The program received 203 entrepreneurial ideas, of which 118 were accepted. Participating students underwent several stages designed to develop their ideas and projects, including an intensive training camp featuring workshops and training sessions conducted by experts and trainers. This was followed by mentoring and guidance stages, culminating in a final idea presentation before a judging panel. At the program's conclusion, one idea was selected, and its creator received financial support of 4,000 Jordanian Dinars from Zain's platform to further develop the project into a startup. Al-Bitar affirmed that the platform's doors across all its branches remain open to support, assist, and provide necessary resources for students to continue their entrepreneurial journey.
Al-Bitar also highlighted the platform's collaboration with the Jordanian Design and Development Bureau (JODDB) to launch the first specialized program in cybersecurity for students enrolled at universities where Zain's platform operates, including Jordan University, Hashemite University, Mutah University, Yarmouk University, and Al-Balqa Applied University. This program engaged 89 male and female students studying cybersecurity, IT, and related disciplines. The program spanned 120 intensive training hours covering theoretical and practical training in information security, system management, penetration testing, digital forensics, and other areas aimed at enhancing technical and technological skills in cybersecurity for participating students. The training was delivered by trainers and specialists from the "Cyber Shield" academy, affiliated with the Jordanian Design and Development Bureau (JODDB). Al-Bitar emphasized that launching this program aligns with the platform's commitment to enhancing the skills of university students studying modern disciplines in cybersecurity, given its growing significance amid digital advancements and technological revolutions. It aims to meet the increasing need for experts and talent development in this field within the Kingdom, while contributing to empowering students' capabilities and enriching their knowledge in cybersecurity realms.
Tareq Al-Bitar continued his discussion about the significance of the cybersecurity field and the platform's keen interest in developing the skills of talented and professional university students in this domain within the Kingdom. He highlighted the platform's launch of two cybersecurity competitions this year, namely "Capture The Flag" and another of "Attack and Defense," involving over 200 students and professionals in the cybersecurity field. Participants showcased their skills in addressing security challenges, identifying encryption vulnerabilities, reverse engineering malicious software, exploitation, open-source intelligence, web security, mobile phone security, and digital forensics. The platform awarded cash prizes totaling 5,250 Jordanian Dinars to the winning teams. Al-Bitar emphasized that such competitions serve as an effective means to narrow the skills gap in cybersecurity, enhancing the capacity for tracking, identifying, and addressing security vulnerabilities. They also serve as a platform to discover talents and competencies within the Kingdom.
Al-Bitar then reviewed Zain Innovation Campus' achievements over nine years and its role in serving the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Kingdom. The platform culminated its journey this year by unveiling the initial version of the "Jordanian Startup Ecosystem Report for 2018-2023," the first of its kind in terms of comprehensive information and data it encompasses. Prepared in collaboration with "Wamda," a leading introductory platform in the region, and the investment fund "Beyond Capital," the report was presented during an exclusive entrepreneurial event held at the Royal Automobile Museum, attended by numerous stakeholders in the Kingdom's entrepreneurship realm, including investors, experienced representatives from Jordanian business incubators and accelerators, university representatives, Jordanian entrepreneurs, and strategic partners of the platform. This report provided informative insights into the number of Jordanian startups that secured investments over the past five years, details about these startups' founders, highlighted key local, regional, and global investors in Jordan's startups, discussed their challenges, and also presented an illustrative study on the number of investment funds currently operating in the Kingdom, their activity levels based on investment stages, and the funding they provided over the last five years. Al-Bitar mentioned that the platform is finalizing the compilation of data from all relevant stakeholders and authorities to publish a comprehensive and complete version of this report accessible to all stakeholders and decision-makers in the Kingdom.
Tareq Al-Bitar highlighted Zain Innovation Campus' achievements since its establishment in 2014 up to 2023, expressing them in numerical terms. The platform has supported 242 startups to date, with the latest being 9 startups selected this year within the sixth edition of Zain's Initiative program, a pivotal annual initiative aimed at supporting Jordanian entrepreneurs. This program offers financial support totaling 160,000 Jordanian Dinars along with logistical support for an entire year. Moreover, the platform organized 5,900 events across its 8 branches in various fields, attracting a total of 353,500 visitors. It continued forging strategic partnerships with numerous public and private entities in the entrepreneurship domain in the Kingdom, surpassing around 140 strategic partnerships to date.
The platform also continued its support for Jordanian entrepreneurs by involving them in various local, regional, and global events and conferences. This year, it provided opportunities for 6 Jordanian startups to participate in the 10th edition of the "RiseUp 2023" summit, the largest entrepreneurship summit in the Middle East and North Africa, held at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt. Additionally, it facilitated the participation of 5 startups in the second edition of the Artificial Intelligence in Defense and Cyber Security Technologies (AIDTSEC 2023) conference and exhibition, as part of its sponsorship of this significant event held in the Kingdom.
The platform continued serving the Jordanian entrepreneurship sector through diverse programs and initiatives throughout 2023. This included the Young Jordanian Entrepreneurs Society (YESJO) program, launched annually during school holidays to develop school students' skills, particularly in entrepreneurship. The 2023 edition targeted government and private school students in Amman, Irbid, and Karak, engaging 66 students. Furthermore, Zain's Initiative program, in its sixth edition in 2023, received 100 entrepreneurial ideas and involved 30 startups.