Faisal Ghori did an excellent story for the Huffington Post on the Maktoob-Yahoo deal. The story’s focus is on how this deal gives hope to entrepreneurs in the region where hope is in short supply.

The story also highlights Jordan as the region’s leading tech startup base. I am happy that this notion is becoming a pattern, repeated in various media already.

In a day and age when business in the Middle East has become synonymous with Dubai, this story’s genesis is found in the rocky crags of Jordan. Better known for Petra and the Dead Sea, Jordan has been the region’s leading base for technology startups. While Dubai may boast of an Internet City, more of the region’s startups were founded and operate in Jordan than anywhere else in the Middle East. This can be owed in large part to investments made by King Abdullah II in the technology sector. Amongst its peers, Jordan is the only Middle Eastern nation with a technology incubator and a fledgling technology ecosystem. Proverbially overnight, Samih Toukan, CEO and founder of Maktoob.com, and his team have accomplished what Jordan has spent the better part of a decade trying to do: garner international attention for its technology sector. This is nothing short of a coup; Jordan and the region’s entrepreneurs are now in the spotlight.

I am quoted in the article. I come across as a bit of a pessimist by saying that e-commerce and e-content in the region are “dismal”. Well, they are dismal and there is no other way to put it. Any Arab Human Development Report you look at, would tell you that when it comes to knowledge, the Arab world has a terrifying deficit.

But the article ends well with a more uplifting quote from me, reiterating the story’s theme of “hope”.

Well. I call it Critical Optimism. I am hopeful about the future and the possibility of positive change for Jordan and the wider Arab market, but I feel I need to stay alert to the reality that surrounds us.

Make sure to read Faisal’s article in full.