Amman, September 2013 - Oasis500, the MENA region’s premier early stage investment company and technology start-up accelerator program, signed an agreement with the Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) on Sunday 1st September, 2013. The agreement was signed by Dr. Usama Fayyad, Executive Chairman of Oasis500, and Eng. Abdullah Obeidat, President of JEA.

The agreement aims to provide engineers who are considering establishing their own start-ups with a platform that offers the necessary tools needed to optimize their success. This includes connecting engineers to organizations such as Oasis500 and JEA which can offer them professional know-how and financial support required to accelerate their businesses, among other related services.

As part of the agreement, Oasis500 will offer engineers the opportunity to enroll in its business acceleration program, starting with the intensive training Boot Camp. After completing the training on all the fundamentals of establishing successful start-ups that can attract investors, engineers will pitch their business ideas to Oasis500. Successful start-ups will be incubated by Oasis500 and will receive financial support as well as a 100-day incubation period during which they be provided with office space, office services, and on-going coaching and mentoring. Oasis500 will also help the start-ups secure follow-on investment through an expansive network of local, regional and global investors. Oasis500 will offer the start-ups the opportunity to benefit from JEA’s entrepreneurial initiatives, particularly ‘Youth Engineers Entrepreneurs’.

Established companies can also benefit from Oasis500’s GROW Track which will help them accelerate their operations, develop products and penetrate new markets.

In parallel, JEA will collaborate with Oasis500 and a network of partners to support young engineers in transforming their ideas into commercially viable companies. It will conduct seminars, lectures and workshops aimed at developing engineers’ entrepreneurial competencies with a special focus on ICT, digital content and online/Internet space. JEA will host successful start-ups that will share with engineers their first-hand experiences in the field.

“We have always believed that private sector and civil society organization partnerships are key to building a dynamic and sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem in Jordan. Today, we are pleased to announce our partnership with the Jordan Engineers Association, which represents over 100 thousand engineers across the Kingdom. Oasis500 and JEA share a common vision of supporting and promoting entrepreneurship. As such, Oasis500 will extend its full support to JEA’s programs and initiatives aimed at enabling and empowering young aspiring engineers who seek to establish their own start-ups,” commented Dr. Fayyad.

In turn, Eng. Obeidat stated, “We believe that collaborating with Oasis500’s start-up accelerator program will significantly enhance young engineers’ chances of success. The Association also plans to showcase the success stories of prominent entrepreneurs to inspire engineers. We will also spread awareness on how Oasis500’s operations can help them achieve success,” explained Eng. Obeidat. “We are confident that this partnership will yield positive results and mitigate unemployment amongst fresh graduates and established engineers alike.”


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