The Queen Rania Center Entrepreneurship (QRCE) is a not-for-profit and non-governmental organization.it was established in October of 2004 and located at the EL Hassan Science City, Jubaiha-Jordan. It's mission is to support economics growth by providing an array of services in entrepreneurship development and technology commercialization through the several programs conducted by QRCE.
Read more on the QRCE website
Global Entrepreneurship Week, an international initiative observed in over 80 countries annually, concluded Sunday, November 22. For the first time, the event was held in Jordan and featured a slate of panels, trainings, speakers and activities in which 400 local, Arab and international entrepreneurs and business leaders took part.
The goal of Global Entrepreneurship Week is to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity, and to encourage entrepreneurship around the globe. The organizers in Jordan focused especially on positioning the country as a regional hub of innovation and the leader in entrepreneurial activity.
The week, which began with a launch reception and speaker line-up on Sunday, November 15, was organized by Creative Commons, Endeavor Jordan, the Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship (QRCE), and the Young Entrepreneurs Association, and was coordinated globally by the Kauffman Foundation.
Key-note speakers at the launch included Silicon Valley stars Reid Hoffman, the founder and CEO of LinkedIn, Joi Ito, an activist, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, CEO of Creative Commons and an adviser to Twitter, and Mitchell Baker, the Chairwoman of the Mozilla Foundation, launcher of the Firefox web-browser. The entrepreneurs shared their perspectives with their audience, focusing on the importance of open-ness, collaboration, risk-taking and embracing failure as keys to successful entrepreneurship.
Also taking the podium were Sami Shalabi, founder of Zingku, which was later acquired by Google, and Habib Haddad, a co-founder of Yamli.com, an Arabic-language search engine. From Jordan, speakers included CEOs, business leaders, investors and innovators involved in entrepreneurship in the Kingdom and the region.
Organizers sought to spotlight Jordan’s nascent culture of entrepreneurship, highlight individual success stories and draw up an action plan to grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Jordan.
The week’s agenda was diverse, featuring learning opportunities like a training on November 17th led by Mary Elizabeth Diab, who coached 185 participants on the techniques of networking. On the 22nd, Dr Wissam Rabadi led “Entrepreneurship 101,” a curricula developed by Intel Education and the University of California at Berkeley.
Two days during the week were dedicated to “Afkar, yes we can!” a series of interactive creative thinking sessions conducted by DART, a student entrepreneurship community based at Princess Sumaya University for Technology. The DART team visited 10 schools in Amman, Ma’an and Zarqa with the aim of stimulating students to take on entrepreneurship in their future.
A panel discussion was held on Saturday focused on the achievements made by women entrepreneurs in Jordan. Success stories were shared with 50 attendees, which highlighted the role women business leaders play in socio-economic development.
At the conclusion of Global Entrepreneurship Week, Tijaritna, an entrepreneurs’ marketplace featuring handmade and home-baked products and treats, was held at City Mall on Sunday, November 22.
Organizers voiced appreciation for the sponsors of the week, including Aramex, Société Générale Bank and Friedrich Naumann Foundation, in addition to other supporters; USAID, King Abdullah Fund for Development, Zain, Orange, IV Holding, Royal Jordanian as the official carrier, Rotana Radio, Energy FM, OC and Venture magazines.
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About the Organizers:
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that works to increase the amount of creativity (cultural, educational, and scientific content) in “the commons” — the body of work that is available to the public for free and legal sharing, use, repurposing, and remixing. Creative Commons provides easy to use legal tools to give everyone from individual creators to large companies and institutions a simple, standardized way to grant copyright permissions to their creative work.
Endeavor is a global non-profit that breaks down barriers that prevent emerging-market entrepreneurs from reaching their high-impact potential. Endeavor screens hundreds of next-generation entrepreneurs, ultimately selecting those who demonstrate the leadership, creativity, and entrepreneurial qualities to build high-growth, successful companies. Once selected, Endeavor Entrepreneurs benefit from services tailored to help them develop their businesses, plan for growth, and attract financing. Endeavor Jordan launched in 2009 to support high-impact entrepreneurship in Jordan.
The Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship (QRCE) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization which works towards improving national development and aims to be the region’s cornerstone for technology commercialization and entrepreneurship advancement. The QRCE hosts the Google Award for the Best Online Business in Jordan, in addition to the Queen Rania Entrepreneurship Competition.
The Young Entrepreneurs’ Association was established in November 1998 as a non-governmental, non-profit organization. The membership-based YEA plays a leadership role in supporting young entrepreneurs in today’s increasingly competitive global market. YEA aims at supporting entrepreneurial opportunities through enhancing the entrepreneurial spirit, growing the number of entrepreneurs in Jordan, and improving the business environment.
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