Jordan - the cradle of internet startups
Over the past week or so, several stories have been published in The National, Abu Dhabi’s quality English language daily, about Jordan’s technology scene, with a special focus on Jordanian web startups and the emerging culture around them.

Reporting from Jordan, The National’s Tom Gara has been firing off one article after the other, featuring a number of players from our local internet an tech scene, including, I am happy to say our team at TootCorp, creators of Ikbis and Watwet. :-)

ikbis team
Photo from The National by Salah Malkawi

But the most interesting story by Tom by far is his attempt to answer the key question: why does Jordan have such an interesting startup scene?

The answers he brought together in his story ‘Jordan – the cradle of of internet stat-ups’ manage to paint a comprehensive picture that explains how a small and relatively poor country like Jordan manages to have a rather vibrant web industry, compared to its larger, and traditionally dominating neighbors. Very interesting read.
If you are interested in catching up on Tom’s reports from Amman, check out his post on The National’s beepbeep blog, where he put together links for all his Jordan stories.

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8 responses to “Abu Dhabi’s ‘The National’ discovers Jordan’s tech startup scene”

  1. Sasa Avatar
    Sasa

    Amman does seem to be the Arab World’s Silicon Valley, mostly thanks to you guys! Well done!

  2. me Avatar
    me

    And the main reason in the article of Mr. Gara was of course ot mentioned – which is- Jordan just immitates everything Israel does.

  3. Massina Avatar
    Massina

    Many Jordanians just have this entrepreneurial quality to them. It’s just one of the things that we got right in our society that people often seem to neglect to mention much, as it is in fact positive and therefore not kvetch-worthy.

  4. Oksana Avatar
    Oksana

    Glad to see Tom made this grant piece :) Even happier to know that I might have possibly contributed to that :)

  5. Mohd Khawaja Avatar
    Mohd Khawaja

    Congratulations on this feature :) I’m glad that Tom has interviewed the best entrepreneurs around the country.

    Good luck.. :)

  6. Ibrahim Owais Avatar
    Ibrahim Owais

    @Me “Jordan just imitates everything Israel does”!? How come?

  7. Ali Avatar
    Ali

    Mabrook on the feature, we are blessed in Jordan with excellent resources but unfortunately firms do not know how to hold on to its employees, they all seem to leave to the Gulf

  8. me Avatar
    me

    To Ibrahim – In SO many ways… few examples:

    1 – “Silicon Wadi”? Isn’t that’s the name given to the Israeli high tech industry? And there’s king abdallah suggesting to turn Jordan into silicon wadi – as if there isn’t one already in Israel…

    2. the whole concept of – we’re a small country with no natural resources and we should rely on our people’s brains, and especially, focusing on high tech… I wonder where this came from (look to the neighbour in the west).

    3. Planting trees to make Jordan greener – looks very similar to what’s Israel been doing in the last 60 years or more. Also probably using Israeli gardens designers because the the trees and flowers planted look suspiciously similar to the ones which grow in Israel (and which are unique to the region’s climate). Maybe just copying the Israeli style, again.

    4. Red roofs? where did that come from and how come Jordanian houses start looking more and more like Israeli houses?

    ..and countless of other examples. Actually, I think it’s a good idea. The more countries focus on development the less they are inclined to fight one another. So here’s to progress and peacfull life in the middle east!