At the heart of Jordan’s capital, where vitality and rapid digital transformation are reshaping the landscape, the startup sector is undergoing a notable technological transformation that is redefining concepts of investment and growth.
اضافة اعلان
Despite this creative momentum and the influx of new technologies, Jordanian innovators face a significant challenge in the form of the small size and limited economic capacity of the local market.
This geographic and purchasing-power constraint places an exceptional responsibility on founders, experts say, going beyond mere survival. They must develop flexible, cross-border ideas capable of expanding regionally and globally as a fundamental condition for business growth and prosperity.
Local entrepreneurship experts believe the sustainability of these companies increasingly depends on adopting a “Global First” strategy from the moment a startup is founded and its business model begins to take shape.
Under this emerging approach, the Jordanian market is no longer viewed as a final destination or a ceiling for ambition. Instead, it has become a vital incubator and safe testing ground for products, allowing startups to measure consumer responses and improve service efficiency before launching on a broader scale.
This fundamental shift in thinking requires entrepreneurs to design smart, adaptable solutions that accurately address the expectations and needs of diverse consumers across multiple regional and international markets and cultures.
To achieve cross-border growth at an early stage, specialists agree that startups must make substantial and smart investments in digital transformation tools and advanced infrastructure.
Cloud computing, e-commerce platforms and targeted digital marketing strategies are among the leading tools enabling startups to overcome traditional borders without the need to establish costly physical offices.
Adopting these modern technological solutions gives local ventures an opportunity to build a strong and influential digital presence targeting major markets efficiently and with the lowest possible operating costs.
Experts believe that success in foreign markets does not depend entirely on technology. It also requires building a complex network of regional partnerships and strategic business alliances.
These cross-border relationships play a crucial role in overcoming the regulatory and logistical obstacles companies face when entering new investment environments.
By coordinating with local partners in target markets, Jordanian entrepreneurs can ensure smoother and safer business expansion, transforming local challenges into success stories that inspire the next generation of innovators.
The CEO of the Jordanian Entrepreneurship Association, Dr. Bilal Al-Wadi, said the limited size of the Jordanian market represents a structural challenge for startups.
However, Al-Wadi stressed that this challenge should not become a ceiling on their ambitions.
Jordan, with its human capital, strategic location and growing digital infrastructure, is well positioned to become a platform for producing and exporting innovation.
He explained that Jordan’s unemployment rate among Jordanians reached 21.1% in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring that entrepreneurship is no longer an additional option but a national necessity for creating quality jobs and diversifying sources of growth.
Al-Wadi noted that a startup’s success should not be measured by the number of customers it has within the local market, but by its ability to build a scalable and internationalized business model.
He pointed to the 2026 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report, which covered 53 economies representing 57% of global GDP, warning of a widening “survival gap” between establishing companies and their ability to develop into stable businesses.
This calls for moving beyond celebrating the number of startups to measuring the quality and sustainability of their growth and their ability to reach foreign markets.
He added that technology has redrawn market boundaries. A Jordanian company is no longer constrained by geography, but by its ability to innovate, reach customers and build trust globally.
Al-Wadi said the 2026 Global Startup Ecosystem Report showed a 218% increase in funding for AI-founded companies and a 969% increase in their valuations within entrepreneurial ecosystems.
This demonstrates that the future belongs to companies that use artificial intelligence and data to export software, knowledge-based services and digital solutions, rather than those that focus solely on serving local demand.
He stressed the need to shift from a policy of supporting the establishment of companies to a national policy focused on engineering their growth and international expansion through expansion financing, credit guarantees, intellectual property protection, support for international certifications, connecting companies with overseas investors and buyers, and using government procurement as an initial market for national innovation.
He noted that national exports grew by 5.8% during the first five months of 2026, confirming that Jordan’s economic future lies in foreign markets.
A pioneering state, he said, does not manage a business on behalf of its owner; rather, it removes obstacles, provides a fair opportunity and opens the doors of the world to Jordanian innovation.
Digital transformation and entrepreneurship expert engineer Hani Al-Batsh believes that the limited size of the Jordanian market is one of the real challenges facing startups, but it is not the main reason for their failure and is not an insurmountable obstacle.
Al-Batsh said Jordan has “a limited population base compared with regional markets, while purchasing power in some sectors is not particularly high.” This may limit the growth rate of companies that rely solely on the local market.
However, the digital economy has changed the rules of competition, and the success of companies now depends more on their ability to reach regional and global markets than on the size of the domestic market.
On how to address this challenge, Al-Batsh said startups “should be born with a Global First mindset, so that the Jordanian market serves as an environment for testing and improving products rather than the final market.”
He stressed the importance of designing products and services around the needs of multiple markets, while investing in digital marketing, cloud computing, e-commerce platforms and regional partnerships, enabling expansion beyond national borders from the earliest stages.
He added that focusing on exportable digital sectors such as software, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, fintech and digital education opens opportunities for growth without being constrained by the size of the local market.
Al-Batsh pointed out that telecommunications and internet infrastructure and related services have eliminated many of the geographic restrictions that previously faced companies.
Today, a startup in Amman can provide services to customers in the Gulf, Europe or North America through digital platforms, remote work, cloud computing, electronic payment systems and digital marketing.
Competition is increasingly based on product quality and innovation rather than the company’s geographic location, giving Jordanian companies a genuine opportunity to access markets comprising hundreds of millions of customers if they have a competitive product and a clear expansion strategy.
He said the government’s role should focus on enabling companies to access markets, rather than merely supporting their establishment.
This requires facilitating regional and international expansion through trade agreements and mutual recognition of digital services, simplifying regulatory procedures, providing a flexible legislative environment for startups, improving access to financing and venture capital, and supporting participation in international exhibitions and markets.
He also noted that investment in digital infrastructure, development of digital-economy legislation, AI governance, data protection and cybersecurity can increase international investors’ and customers’ confidence in Jordanian companies.
It is also important to strengthen partnerships among the government, universities and the private sector to develop digital skills, link scientific research to market needs, and turn innovation into exportable products and services.
Al-Batsh said: “The question today is no longer whether the Jordanian market is small. It is how we can make Jordanian companies capable of competing in a global market. In the digital economy, the size of the domestic market is no longer the decisive factor.
What matters is the ability to innovate, scale quickly, deliver quality products and reach customers wherever they are. If we succeed in building companies that think globally from day one, the limited local market will become a starting point for accessing larger markets rather than a constraint.”
Technology and telecommunications expert Wasfi Al-Safadi believes that the limited size of the Jordanian market is a significant and complex challenge for startups.
However, he said it would be more accurate to describe the situation as follows: “The limited size of the domestic market requires startups to expand early into regional and international markets.”
Jordan, according to Al-Safadi, is a small and open economy. The World Bank has explicitly noted that the small size of the domestic market makes expansion into regional and global markets essential for Jordanian entrepreneurs.
Recent GEM data also indicate that access to international markets is improving, although penetration of global markets remains limited, particularly among startups in their early stages.
Al-Safadi believes addressing this challenge begins with the entrepreneur by designing the business model from the outset to be scalable beyond Jordan, selecting products or services with regional or global demand, conducting early market research, and developing capabilities in marketing, exporting, pricing and cross-border operations instead of relying solely on the domestic market.
As for the government, Al-Safadi believes its role is not to compensate for the small size of the market but to help companies overcome it.
This includes simplifying export and trade procedures, improving the regulatory and financing environment, supporting participation in exhibitions and market-access programs, connecting startups with international investors and partners, and strengthening agreements and networks that open new markets to Jordanian products.
This is consistent with the Economic Modernization Vision, which identifies international markets and exports as drivers of growth, as well as its 2026–2029 executive program, which includes initiatives to accelerate digitalization, develop the digital business environment, and establish platforms and incubators supporting innovation and startups.
Regarding the internet and digitalization, Al-Safadi said they are among the most important tools capable of turning Jordan’s small market from a constraint into an incentive for expansion.
Companies can sell software and digital services remotely, reach customers through e-commerce, digital advertising and global platforms, and use data and artificial intelligence to identify the most attractive markets and localize products and marketing in different languages.
The Economic Modernization Vision directly reinforces this direction by targeting market expansion and strengthening digital exports. It includes initiatives to launch domestic and international campaigns to accelerate exports of digital products and services and strengthen Jordan’s global position in the information and communications technology sector.
Al-Safadi concluded: “Therefore, the real challenge is not that the Jordanian market is small in itself, but that a startup may build a business model that depends excessively on it.
The strategic solution is to move from a company serving a local market to a Jordanian company that uses Jordan as a base for building a product capable of being exported and scaled globally.”
