Arabnet Arabnet

Since the early days of plant and animal domestication, agriculture has progressed enormously, enabled by rapid technological developments. Agriculture needs to meet today’s needs while at the same time addressing costs constraints, environment changes and population growth for growing global population.

Agriculture probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about entrepreneurship. But some experts see innovation as key to giving farmers in the MENA region the boost they need to survive in this new age of agricultural challenges – desertification, population explosion, increasing production costs, and decreasing support for traditional and family farming.

Jordan aims to invest in this sector by encouraging its people to provide tech solutions regarding agriculture. On the 4^th of May, HASSAD Agritech 3-month business acceleration program supported by ITG Solutions was launched. It will provide its services to support startups, solutions, and SMEs specializing in technology within the agricultural sector.

The accelerator aims to be a catalyst for the development of the sector in Jordan through its innovative startups. The way to do this is by building a supportive and stimulating environment that captures the distinctive Agritech solutions and transforming these solutions into companies capable of scaling, influencing, and accelerating the development of the Jordanian economy.

Mr. Walid Tahabsem, Chief Executive Officer of the ITG Solutions, believes that “Jordan is in need for specialized business accelerators which will help bring out innovative solutions and convert them to successful, sustainable and scalable businesses.”

Mohammed Alafranji, HASSAD’s Program Manager says “the added value of the accelerator is reinforced by the intensive and specialized 3 months acceleration program, the support from the network of professional mentors and coaches, the access to ITG’s network with local and international bodies related to the sector, grant the access to ITG Agriculture’s farm in the Jordan Valley and ITG’s offices in Cairo, Riyadh, Nairobi and Silicon Valley and finally providing linkages with potential buyers and investors.”

HASSAD will select up to 15 startups in its 1^st cohort and deliver an intensive and specialized acceleration program, provide the support from its network of professional mentors and coaches, networking with local and international bodies related to the sector, linkage with potential buyers and investors, and finally grant the access to ITG Agriculture’s farm in the Jordan Valley and ITG’s offices in Cairo, Riyadh, Nairobi and Silicon Valley. 

The accelerator will focus on various areas related to Agritech and Agri-food, such as, Sustainable inputs, Digital Farming, Circular Economy and the supportive technologies in food, energy and water.

The application for the first 3-month business acceleration program is now open and available on the Website.