A Scout Program that will focus on supporting early-stage businesses in Jordan was officially launched by BeyondCapital, the USAID-funded initiative launched by entrepreneur supporting non-profit Endeavor Jordan and Amman-based global venture capital firm Silicon Badia. The groundbreaking ‘Scout Program’ has been launched as part of the company’s efforts to build investment management capability and unleash the potential in the local ecosystem. The program will enable a select pool of individual Scouts to make small-ticket investments into exciting opportunities within their various areas of expertise, backed by funding from BeyondCapital.
The primary objectives of the program are to catalyze early stage investing in Jordan, enhance access to investable opportunities and widen investor participation into new economic sectors. Tamer Al-Salah, Managing Director of BeyondCapital, speaking at the Program’s kick-off event at the Wild Jordan Centre, commented “We all see opportunity in different ways. A key part of the Scout Program is about getting people with a new and different lens on board to source investment opportunities in areas such as creative industries, disruptive technologies and academia as well as opportunities that encourage and support Jordan’s youth and enable economic development in areas outside of Amman.”
“The program has identified exceptional individuals with a genuine desire to give back to their communities all of whom are truly able to add value well beyond just the capital they invest” added Emile Cubeisy, Managing Partner at Silicon Badia. “With this in mind, we’ve designed a streamlined and frictionless investment process to enable the Scouts we’ve selected to get out there and help great ventures grow.”
Scout investing, a concept made popular by global powerhouse VC firm Sequoia Capital, has yet to be rolled out at a large scale in the Middle East. BeyondCapital’s pioneering Scout Program is not only bringing this model to the region but also incorporates a unique matching capital component by requiring Scouts to help investee companies to find angels and institutional parties to co-invest alongside BeyondCapital, thereby building, educating and promoting a vibrant investor community in Jordan and beyond.
“We have yet again been struck by the extraordinary talent available in Jordan, be they entrepreneurs, angel investors or asset managers. Jordan has some exceptional people at its disposal and we are very eager to be able to leverage that talent through BeyondCapital in making a difference in the Jordanian ecosystem” says Jenny Ahlzen, Investment Principal at Silicon Badia. Through the Scout Program, BeyondCapital hopes to propel job growth, increase equity investment and develop more fast-growing businesses in Jordan.