The Deanship of Innovation, Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship (DI-TECH) at the German Jordanian University (GJU) held an intensive entrepreneurship bootcamp in Zarqa Governorate, bringing together a group of entrepreneurs from the governorates of Zarqa, Mafraq, and Salt. The bootcamp was organized as part of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Grants Program under the Syrian-Jordanian Education Project, with the aim of enhancing participants’ capabilities and preparing their entrepreneurial ideas and projects to progress from the ideation and development stages to implementation, growth, and market entry.
The bootcamp covered a range of key entrepreneurship topics, including business model development, marketing, management and financial planning, and market opportunity assessment, helping participants build more sustainable and scalable ventures. The participating entrepreneurs represented a diverse range of sectors, including digital technology and artificial intelligence, agriculture, renewable energy, water, smart robotics, and logistics.
The bootcamp was supervised by Dr. Ahmad Al-Shawawreh, Eng. Mais Momani, and Eng. Walaa Al-Zoubi, with the participation of a group of trainers and specialists in entrepreneurship and venture development.
Project Coordinator Dr. Ahmad Al-Shawawreh explained that the bootcamp represents the first stage of an integrated pathway aimed at identifying and developing promising entrepreneurial ideas and projects, paving the way for the selection of a number of them to advance to the incubation stage at DI-TECH.
He added that the program goes beyond theoretical training, seeking to help idea and project owners develop their concepts and transform them into viable and scalable business models capable of reaching the market. This contributes to supporting entrepreneurship, creating new economic opportunities, and strengthening the contribution of entrepreneurial ventures to Jordan’s economic and social development.
Al-Shawawreh noted that the Zarqa bootcamp, which targeted participants from Zarqa, Mafraq, and Salt, is part of a series of training bootcamps that will be implemented to expand the program geographically and reach entrepreneurs across different governorates of the Kingdom. Additional bootcamps are planned to target the northern, central, and southern regions.
For her part, Eng. Mais Momani explained that the training program was delivered by a group of trainers specialized in entrepreneurship and areas related to venture development, with a strong focus on interactive learning and practical application. Throughout the training sessions, participants worked on developing their business models, preparing financial and marketing plans, and analyzing customer needs and target markets, directly linking the knowledge and skills they acquired to the projects they are developing.
She added that this approach aims to enable participants to realistically assess their ideas, identify their projects’ strengths, challenges, and available opportunities, and enhance their ability to make decisions related to marketing, pricing, financial management, and future growth.
One of the participants, Ikram Al-Shouha, founder of Al-Khairat for Sustainable Agriculture in Mafraq Governorate, highlighted the importance of the bootcamp in developing her skills in marketing, finance, and project management. She explained that her family business focuses on developing organic agriculture for a number of high-value agricultural products, including saffron, flax seeds, and chia seeds, and serves as a primary source of income for her and her family.
Al-Shouha added that she aspires to further develop the project, increase its production and marketing capacity, and obtain the necessary certifications and accreditations to enable it to access new markets, including Arab and European markets. She also seeks to capitalize on the quality of the agricultural products offered by the project to strengthen its competitiveness and expand its reach.
At the conclusion of the bootcamp, participants presented their entrepreneurial ideas and projects before a specialized judging panel. The projects were evaluated according to a set of criteria related to innovation, clarity of the business model, market needs, economic feasibility, and growth and expansion potential.
Based on the evaluation results, the most promising projects and ideas will be selected to advance to the incubation stage at DI-TECH. They will receive further opportunities for mentoring and guidance, business model development, and connections with relevant experts and stakeholders, with the aim of enhancing their market readiness and transforming promising ideas into sustainable, scalable entrepreneurial ventures capable of creating economic and social value.