World Bank Awards Jordan Startup Fund Highest Rating for Catalysing Jordan's Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

World Bank Awards Jordan Startup Fund Highest Rating for Catalysing Jordan's Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

Al-Muhtaseb: According to the World Bank evaluation report, the Fund played a major role in structuring the venture capital market in Jordan, stimulating economic activity, and supporting the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Al-Muhtaseb: Up to 2025, direct and indirect investment in 160 Jordanian startups, creating approximately 2,600 direct jobs in Jrdan as well as upto 4 times in indirect jobs in the market.

Al-Muhtaseb: 22 investment funds attracted to the Kingdom, investing USD 108.97 million of private capital into Jordanian companies.

Al-Muhtaseb: The partnership with the World Bank (made possible though a financing agreement with Ministry of Planning) as well as the Central Bank of Jordan's role as a direct supporter and investor in the Fund had a positive impact in strengthening the Fund's governance.

Amman — May 2026 — The Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF) today disclosed the findings of the World Bank's Implementation Completion and Results Report (ICR), which awarded the Fund a rating of "Highly Satisfactory" (Highly Satisfactory) — the highest category in the World Bank's evaluation framework.

ISSF confirmed that the World Bank report — completed at the end of March 2026, covering the results of the Fund's first phase through 2025 — constitutes a validation of the institution's success in surpassing its operational and investment targets despite economic and geopolitical challenges in the Region. It reflects the distinguished achievements of this Jordanian institution, in which the World Bank participated through a financing agreement with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, alongside a direct investment from the Central Bank of Jordan — both of which positively influenced the development and growth of the venture capital investment ecosystem, the primary catalyst for Jordan's entrepreneurship environment.

The announcement was made by ISSF at a roundtable held in Amman, in the presence of its Chief Executive Officer Eng. Mohammad Al-Muhtaseb, who confirmed that this international assessment — titled the Implementation Completion and Results Report (ICR) — crowned the Fund's performance with the "Highly Satisfactory" rating from the World Bank, the highest classification in the evaluation framework. The project represented a mature model of smart intervention in local and regional venture capital markets, as well as an evaluation of management efficiency, governance, and resource management that merits replication of the ISSF’s success in other countries across multiple dimensions, according to the World Bank report.

Speaking at the roundtable — held under the theme "From Implementation to Impact" — Al-Muhtaseb said that the World Bank's assessment reflects the efficiency of the Jordanian model in maximising the impact of resources and building an integrated investment ecosystem, enabling the attraction of private investments. The Fund played a pivotal role in structuring the venture capital market, stimulating the economic cycle, and strengthening the competitiveness of the national economy.

Al-Muhtaseb clarified that the report concluded the project merited a rating of "Highly Satisfactory" — not merely because it achieved its objectives, but because it exceeded most of them as well as its pivotal role in the market. The World Bank called for the experience and its capacity to generate sustainable market impact to be extended to other countries globally. He noted that the Fund broadly succeeded in surpassing most of its targets, having mobilised USD 108.97 million in private capital for investment in 160 Jordanian startup transactions.

On the economic impact and employment front, Al-Muhtaseb reported that ISSF succeeded over the past years in creating 2,600 direct jobs and an estimated 5,500 to 10,000 indirect jobs across Jordan. These opportunities were distributed with 56% going to youth and 37% to females.

It is worth noting that the ISSF project was launched in 2018 with a total value of USD 98 million — USD 50 million from the World Bank through a financing agreement with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, and a direct investment of USD 48 million from the Central Bank of Jordan. The Fund's central objective was to bridge the structural gap in financing for innovative small and medium enterprises at the founding and early-growth stages.

The project was launched against a challenging economic backdrop: Jordan was contending with high unemployment, a weak private sector, and significant exposure to regional disruptions. At the same time, the entrepreneurship environment carried the seeds of genuine growth — yet the absence of appropriate financing instruments was impeding the conversion of ideas into scalable ventures.

Al-Muhtaseb explained that a reading of the report reveals several elements that made the difference in ISSF's experience. The first is professional governance: the Fund was established as an independent, privately governed joint-stock company operating in accordance with international best practices for investment fund management, and employing professional standards in investment selection and structuring, partner management, risk management, and adherence to World Bank compliance and internal audit criteria.

Al-Muhtaseb added that the Fund's work centred on its role as a catalytic investor — attracting private investment without displacing or competing with it in the market. This extended to supporting the entrepreneurship ecosystem beyond investment alone: in its first phase, the Fund allocated USD 4.6 million to business development services, investment readiness, and incubator and accelerator programmes. It also launched the Startups Platform in partnership with the Information Technology Association of Jordan (Intaj) and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship.

He added that one of the Fund's key success factors, as identified by the World Bank, was its openness to regional and international capital and its development of a high-impact, high-expertise fund portfolio. Through investment agreements and structured transactions, ISSF attracted funds that had not previously operated in Jordan to invest in Jordanian companies. The result was a multiplication of the Fund's invested capital by 2.5 times through the venture capital fund portfolio in Jordanian companies — a disciplined investment policy that proved a powerful draw for funds that would not otherwise have entered the Jordanian market.

In detailing the evaluation results, Al-Muhtaseb stated that ISSF succeeded over the past years in supporting some 160 Jordanian startups — 135 through investment funds and 25 directly — and in attracting 22 investment funds to the Jordanian market. The Fund mobilised approximately USD 108.9 million in private investments, with a leverage ratio of 2x to 3x for every dollar invested by ISSF, within a total investment round ecosystem that reached approximately USD 338 million through participating funds spanning local, Arab, and international venture capital.

He noted that the proportion of women-led startups stood at 26%, affirming the Fund's role in supporting women's entrepreneurship and advancing economic empowerment.

Al-Muhtaseb also pointed to the report's finding that financing demand remains high, with projections estimating a funding gap of between USD 234 million and USD 885 million for the period 2025–2030. This represents a financing gap but equally signals a genuine market growth opportunity — one that positions the Jordanian experience as a replicable model for other countries facing similar challenges, giving it a significance that extends well beyond the local to the regional level.

Al-Muhtaseb emphasised the importance of the partnership with the World Bank — which the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation played a key role in enabling through the financing agreement — and of drawing on its international expertise in developing venture capital markets, supporting entrepreneurship and innovation, and implementing the governance, compliance, and risk management framework that the Fund has adhered to since its inception. This was further reinforced by the Fund team's work over the past years in building a balanced, open, and integrated economic model aligned with regional and global capital markets, the primary enabler of an entrepreneurship-supportive environment in any successful economy.

In closing, Al-Muhtaseb highlighted that the close partnership with World Bank as well the Central Bank of Jordan's presence, as a direct supporter and investor in the Fund, had a positive impact in strengthening the Fund's governance and efficiency, which was reflected in its performance and outcomes.

ABOUT ISSF

The Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF) is an independent Jordanian fund established in 2018 with a total capitalisation of USD 98 million, co-financed by the World Bank (through a financing agreement with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation) and an investment from the Central Bank of Jordan. ISSF's mandate is to catalyse venture capital investment in Jordan's innovative startups and SMEs, bridge structural financing gaps, and strengthen the national entrepreneurship ecosystem.

MEDIA CONTACT

Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF)

www.issfjo.com