The Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF) and Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF) have announced their commitment to support the launch of Amam Ventures, Jordan’s first SME gender lens fund.
Led by an all-female partner team, Amam Ventures is an impact investment fund that provides risk capital strongly coupled with technical assistance and supports the sustainability and growth of commercially viable SMEs that are committed to diversity and inclusion, while also working on enhancing their ESG performance.
Founded by Tamara Abdel-Jaber, Fida Taher, and Jenny Atout Ahlzén, the team is diversified by backgrounds and unified by purpose; combining a unique blend of investment management, serial entrepreneurship, strategy, and business transformation experience.
Tamara Abdel-Jaber commented “When entrepreneurship is mentioned, one thinks immediately of technology startups. Yet, most SMEs do not fall into this bucket and are not properly served with the right funding instruments and the technical support they need. We look to change that and help companies move forward.”
The Amam Ventures team believes that the next national business champion does not have to be a well-funded technology startup. SMEs in traditional sectors can also scale, create jobs and have a meaningful impact.
By introducing innovative, quasi-equity, financing instruments that are fair and risk-aligned, Amam Ventures are widening the circle and the depth of the funding ecosystem.
Laith Al-Qassem, CEO at ISSF stated “ISSF is excited to be investing in a women focused fund (AMAM Ventures). This fund is being led by a group of talented professional women who not only understand the challenges of developing and evaluating investments but are also sensitive to the needs and challenges faced by women entrepreneurs. ISSF is confident that the AMAM team will provide meaningful support to their investments and entrepreneurs they choose to support.”
Davide Loriggiola, Investment Manager at Triple Jump/DGGF added “DGGF Seed Capital is constantly on the lookout for first-time fund managers with a strong potential. We are pleased to support a unique initiative as Amam Ventures, and their goal of overcoming the multi-layered challenge of access to finance for women entrepreneurs in Jordan. The cooperation with ISSF is crucial to join forces towards a mutual objective, which is to nurture the next generation of inclusive financial intermediaries in emerging markets.”
Amam’s team has already identified over 100 companies that they plan to invest in and will be announcing their first investment soon. With establishment support from Beyond Capital, this launch is the first step towards a full-fledged fund with a target of $30 million.