The Forsa Programme in Jordan, a UK G8 Initiative, is a Resounding Success!
At a closing ceremony in Amman, Forsa celebrated the achievements of its mentoring programme in providing a year of nurturing and support to upcoming Jordanian entrepreneurs.
Forsa closing ceremony in Amman
Over a year after welcoming its first entrepreneurs and mentors into the Forsa mentoring programme, the British Embassy in Amman, Adam Smith International, the Mowgli Foundation celebrated the success of the programme in Jordan during a closing ceremony held on 24 September 2014 at the UK Ambassador’s residence in Amman.
Forsa Mentoring is an initiative led by Adam Smith International, the Mowgli Foundation, and the Queen Rania Centre for Entrepreneurship to provide guidance and support for 50 young Jordanian entrepreneurs from across the country.
The programme began in 2013 as part of the G8-Deauville Partnership under the presidency of the UK and covers six Arab countries, including Jordan. It aims to improve economic growth and employment opportunities in the private sector through mentoring.
Peter Millett, the UK’s Ambassador to Jordan said: “The UK is proud to support the Forsa initiative. Enterprise and job creation are vital to ensure that talented young people have good job prospects. We are delighted to see the success of the programme in giving budding entrepreneurs the skills and the confidence they need to take advantage of commercial opportunities, build their businesses and create new jobs.
Over the past year, the entrepreneurs have received regular one-on-one advice and support from their mentors to help overcome personal and professional challenges associated with running a business. They have also had opportunities to develop and strengthen business contacts through networking events organised by Forsa, which provide them with a chance to meet other young entrepreneurs and generate new business opportunities.
Creating Positive Results Through Mentoring
The Forsa Programme attracted 100 participants in five mentoring workshops held between June and October 2013. At the end of the workshop, each entrepreneur was matched with an experienced mentor from the Jordanian business community for a period of 12 months.
“It was fortunate to start the Forsa program in Jordan as it was enthusiastically received by all the stakeholders here and set a high benchmark to achieve in the other five MENA countries of focus.
I was privileged to be in regular contact with our Jordanian participants throughout the year and to witness at first-hand the positive impact of mentoring on their business prospects and personal growth” Haider Shakiry, Forsa Mentoring Manager.
Key Figures for Jordan:
- 50 high-potential Entrepreneurs prepared and matched with 50 qualified personal Mentors during 5 three-day workshops;
- 20 out of the 50 entrepreneurs are women.
- 14 business sectors supported, including IT and business services, manufacturing, retail, arts and entertainment, education and charities.
- the mentored businesses employed over 150 people at the start of the programme
- The participating entrepreneurs come from all over the Kingdom
- 74% of the entrepreneurs in the programme are projecting an increase in their sales revenues this year
- 79% expect to increase their staff this year, creating over 180 new jobs
- 60% expect to increase their exports this year
- 80% confirm gaining new skills and capabilities this year
- 78% confirm gaining greater confidence, self-belief and greater awareness of commercial opportunities.
A video about the Forsa programme can be downloaded here
About Adam Smith International
Adam Smith International is a professional services business that delivers real impact, value and lasting change through projects supporting economic growth and government reform internationally.
About the Mowgli Foundation
The Mowgli Foundation is a non-profit headquartered in the UK with offices in UAE and Jordan which has been developing successful business mentoring programmes in the MENA region for the past 5 years.
About The Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship
The Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship, (QRCE) is Forsa’s partner in Jordan, who attracted and recruited a number of candidates and provided communication and PR support for the first phase of the programme. QRCE is a non-profit organisation established in 2004 to help develop technology entrepreneurship in Jordan. The Centre is part of El Hassan Science City, and plays the role of a national centre of excellence for Entrepreneurship. With the expansion of the role of the centre and the development in the strategic plan for El-Hassan Science City, QRCE became part of El-Hassan Business Park to complete an ecosystem for entrepreneurship development and support in Jordan starting with the business plan competition involving universities, entrepreneurs and professionals from different sectors, and ending with the incubation phase in the iPark which is the other supporting part for entrepreneurs in the Business Park. Working closely with local and international organisations, QRCE focuses on areas such as: Networking, Recognition and Awareness, Capacity Building & Support, and Funding.