Ammon News - The Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO) on Monday launched a program to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the industrial sector.

With a total cost of JD430,000, the program aims at boosting 'national linkages' between local factories and the industrial sector and other economic sectors such as the agricultural and commercial sectors. This will increase confidence in the local product and increase self-reliance as technical and financial support will be provided to the targeted SMEs, according to a JEDCO statement.

JEDCO's CEO, Bashar Zu'bi, stressed the government’s awareness of the importance of the industrial sector and its contribution, which accounts for a quarter of the national economy. The sector also employs around 250,000 Jordanian workers and constitutes more than 90 per cent of total Jordanian exports.

The National Linkages program, Zu'bi added, seeks to strengthen the links between local factories, increase the purchase of raw materials and production inputs, thereby increasing confidence and supporting and developing Jordanian products, in line with the government's priorities and its current economic approach that focuses on creating opportunities and developing them under a competitive national economy built on a real institutional partnership with the private sector.

Zu'bi underlined that the program looks to provide added value and benefit to the targeted enterprises, in particular, and to Jordan, in general, in addition to supporting the local product, increasing self-reliance, encouraging national industries and increasing their competitiveness by raising the administrative and production capabilities through incorporating modern technology.

He pointed out that the National Linkages program will start receiving applications as of today, adding that it focuses on linking five local industrial SMEs with at least five SMEs operating in all sectors (industrial, commercial, service, and agricultural).

The program will provide financial and technical grants in two phases; in the first phase, a total of JD30,000 will be granted to finance specialized technical consultations for 15 industrial SMEs in the form of financial grants with an amount of no more than JD2,000 for each company.

Meanwhile, in the second phase, a total of JD400,000 will be provided to finance and support the costs of the development plans of five industrial supply SMEs to fulfill all the requirements of the importing companies, where grants will be provided with an amount of up to JD80,000 for each company, covering about 50 per cent of the total cost of the project.

Noteworthy, JEDCO is the national umbrella for economic enterprise development in Jordan, inclusive of startups and entrepreneurships. JEDCO supports the developments of these enterprises and strengthens their competitiveness, in addition to facilitating access to financing. It also seeks to promote and enable policies that create a more suitable environment for their growth.