As part Design and Determine project, an initiative of Maqha Al Nahda, the pioneer project launched in 2019, as a model of partnership between the private sector and civil society and to initiate incubation opportunities, ARDD in partnership with Zummurod for Orientals and funded by the European Regional Development and Protection Program (RDPP II) to support Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, announces a call for application to join its incubation program aiming at assisting new and growing businesses to become established and profitable by providing incubates with a place of operation and a supportive environment to grow their business.
The project is designed to respond to the livelihood needs in Jordan. It directly supports ARDD’s programmatic theme of Human and Economic Development and feeds into its other themes of Youth Enablement and Education; Peace and Social Cohesion; Forced Migration, Refugees and Shataat; and Gender Justice.
The incubation opportunity aims to reduce the failure rate of new start-up businesses in Jordan. It is a means to create jobs and assist local economic development by lowering operating costs, providing access to business counseling, and promoting networking among tenants to facilitate information-sharing. The incubates will benefit from an incubation period reaching up to 12 months to increase their success potential.
Model and Services
Maqha Al-Nahda is a hybrid business model that operates as an incubator and as an accelerator for tenants as they develop or grow their business ideas. In addition to targeting vulnerable groups in Jordan as tenants, Maqha Al-Nahda aims to target social entrepreneurs and enterprises that can evolve into for-profit organizations, non-profit organizations, and possibly NGOs, who can actively contribute to providing solutions to the community, social, agricultural, economic and environmental challenges. Therefore, a range of industries can be included, as long as the enterprises are contributing to challenges faced by communities in Jordan. In order to reach this goal, the following services will be offered:
1) Providing them with the relevant business training to aid them in developing and growing their businesses,
2) Assisting them in building an appropriate business model through periodic workshops conducted by an experienced professional. This may include Market Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Description of Management and Organization, Breakdown of Your Products and Services, and Marketing Plan,
3) Linking them with experts from different sectors including private sector members, civil society organizations, academics, and professionals in their fields for mentorship opportunities and consulting services,
4) Providing them with access to ARDD’s research as well as relevant development sector research to help inform and guide their business design that can effectively address the social challenges and needs,
5) Facilitating cluster building among current and past incubates, whereby those with complimentary services and products will be provided the opportunity to form linkages.
6) Creating an alumni network of social entrepreneurs that will further facilitate cluster building as well as provide a platform for knowledge exchange and experience sharing,
7) Supporting them in acquiring funding through linking them with ARDD’s private sector partners, venture capital funds, and micro-finance institutions, as well as aiding them in gaining direct funding from donors or through donor-funded projects. For this component, Maqha Al-Nahda will provide periodic training in fundraising, writing business plans, pre-feasibility studies, and donor targeted proposal writing,
8) Providing funding through donor-funded projects conducted by ARDD,
9) Integrating the members into the relevant ARDD networks; including the Nahda Women and Youth Networks,
10) Providing seminars from experienced professionals and experts in relevant and complementary fields,
11) Providing access to an online platform in which they can share their ideas and receive constructive criticism and advice from former and current incubates.
12) Assisting the entrepreneurs in registering their business and providing relevant legal awareness sessions
Full terms, conditions, and application form in Arabic
