Alghad - The Executive Director of Jordan Foundation for the Development of Economic Projects Dr. Bashar Al-Zoubi revealed the launch of financing programs to support companies operating in the industrial, service and entrepreneurial sectors before the end of this year. Al-Zoubi said in an interview with Al-Ghad that the programs will be in the form of direct non-refundable financial grants and technical support as the Foundation aims through these programs to support and finance about 80 companies.

Al-Zoubi stressed that launching the programs aims at empowering and strengthening companies in order to stimulate them to increase exports, expand production and provide more job opportunities for Jordanians. On the nature of the programs, Zu'bi explained that the first program is the launch of the program “Industry for export for the third phase”, which aims to support 30 companies, while the second program to support services for the second phase, targeting 40 companies. The third program is about entrepreneurship, as the Foundation targets 10 viable entrepreneurial ideas, marketing and sales, where it will work to help them through registration and capacity building and other procedures needed, pointing to the existence of cooperation with universities, investment funds and business incubators in this regard.

He pointed out that the number of industrial companies exported in the Kingdom does not exceed 300 companies out of 17 thousand companies, noting that the Corporation seeks through the program to support the industry to increase the export base and diversification and increase the exports of those companies by 10% annually.

Al-Zoubi explained that studies indicate that each dinar spent on the services sectors for export achieves a return of 12 dinars, while every dinar spent on industry achieves a return of 3.9 dinars on exports, which is higher than the European standard of 2.9 dinars. Al-Zoubi said that the Corporation will announce the results of companies benefiting from the program of supporting the industry for export next Wednesday, as 22 industrial companies will be selected from 92 applications, indicating that the value of the grant amounts to 50,000 dinars for each company.

He stressed that the Foundation has begun to regain its role and the confidence of donors through a return to the implementation of programs and projects through the Foundation to support companies operating in different sectors, pointing out that the Foundation to present the reality of its work and activities carried out by 21 advisers and economic attachments to European embassies.

He explained that the Foundation recently signed an agreement with the German Agency for Development to establish an electronic platform for small and medium enterprises in addition to an agreement with the Dutch side to provide technical support for 100 existing projects. Development in order to continue to support projects in the form of technical support worth 10,000 euros and grants worth 50,000 euros.

He explained that the Foundation is in the process of signing an agreement with the International Fund for Agricultural Development to finance the project of rural economic development and employment by providing $ 25 million in the form of soft loans and grants for the next four years to support agricultural sectors in various governorates in the field of marketing for domestic and foreign export. He pointed out that the Foundation is preparing a study on the reality of entrepreneurship, which will be implemented through the Center for Studies with the support of the German Agency for Development worth 70 thousand euros.

Before the end of this year, the Foundation will launch through its numbering authority through the launch of an electronic application that includes (barcode) where the first phase targets 250 products belonging to 50 companies to promote the local industry where the consumer can by downloading this application over the phone to know the components and characteristics of the product. Provincial Development Fun.

On the provincial development fund, Al-Zu'bi said that “there are projects benefiting from the provincial development funds that have achieved successes and have contributed significantly to achieving development and created job opportunities for the people of the governorate in which they are located.”

With the Fund dealing with a high risk category and financing ratios up to 80% and no guarantees. Al-Zoubi said that the total projects benefiting from the Provincial Development Fund, which received funding, amounted to about 96 projects in various governorates with a financing volume of 49 million dinars. He explained that the total investment volume of projects financed by the Fund is about 96 million dinars; distributed in three main sectors of agricultural manufacturing, services and industry.

The volume of financing provided by the Fund constituted 47% of the total value of the total investment, amid estimates that these investments will generate 3211 job opportunities for Jordanians in the various governorates of the Kingdom, and that the total projects defaulted to repayment reached 14 projects and do not constitute more than 15% of the total Projects financed by the Fund with a financing volume up to 4 million dinars. He pointed out that the Foundation has transferred the file of the owners of these projects to public funds, which in turn take legal action to recover the value of funding from the Fund, pointing out that 4 of the total projects defaulted stopped working.

He pointed out that Karak governorate is one of the highest governorates by benefiting from the fund with 17 projects, then Tafilah by 15, followed by Irbid and Maan by 10 for each governorate, in addition to 9 projects in Balqa and Mafraq 8. He pointed out that the Fund has stopped funding, where there are 7 applications have been approved for funding worth 2 million, but we expect to be transferred payments from the Ministry of Finance to complete its financing.

He pointed out that the Foundation is conducting field trips to get acquainted with the reality of projects benefiting from the provincial development fund in terms of work progress, completion and communication to solve any obstacles facing the work of those projects.

He pointed out that the Corporation has reviewed the methodology and procedures of the Fund's work, where all the sub-committees that receive the applications and study them were canceled and used by the Investment and Evaluation Committee, which includes a specialized delegate in banks, the Director General of the Corporation and a representative of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, in addition to three specialized experts, who will be in the committee according to the nature of the project”.

"If the project is rejected by the Investment and Evaluation Committee, it will not be submitted to the executive committee chaired by the chairman of the Investment Authority, Dr. Khalid Al-Wazani, who will study the projects that have been accepted and take the appropriate financing decision, which means that there are procedures according to international standards in terms of credit decision and collection," he said.. He pointed out that the institution is in the process of establishing an electronic platform to restrict applications to benefit from the provincial development fund in order to facilitate and expedite the procedures within simple and easy steps include the number of jobs and the nature of the project and the size of the project and the nature of the project and accordingly hopes to take the decision to complete the project request or rejection.

He explained that the institution has prepared a manual related to the procedures for the recovery of funds of the Fund through the preparation of payment schedules in accordance with the conditions of financing and notify the beneficiary of the Fund timetables for the maturity date of installments so that he is informed of the dates and telephone 15 days before the payment of the installment.

In case of default, a first notification will be sent and the project owner will be contacted, a second notification and a third notification. In case of 45 days of non-payment, the company file is transferred to the Legal Affairs Unit to take legal action and send a first and second warning. Financial to take action.

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