Policy paper calls for new legal framework to boost Jordan's digital entrepreneurship

Amman — The Siran Foundation for Development and Capacity Building and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Jordan Office unveiled a strategic policy paper titled "Enhancing the Resilience and Competitiveness of the Digital Entrepreneurship Sector in Jordan" during a roundtable on August 4 that brought together decision‑makers, entrepreneurs, digital economy experts, business incubators and representatives of civil society and international organisations. The paper recommends a new legal and procedural framework for startups, including a Digital Entrepreneurship Resilience Index, a dedicated startups law and a simplified corporate vehicle dubbed the "Simplified Jordanian Shareholding Company" with no minimum capital requirement.

"The project provides an integrated framework of six pillars to strengthen Jordan's competitiveness as a safe and sustainable regional hub for innovation-driven investment," said Veronica Ertel, Resident Representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's Jordan Office.

Policy recommendations and immediate proposals

Mohammad Awad, Director General of the Siran Foundation, urged the development of evidence‑based legislative and procedural frameworks to better align policymaking with national development priorities and to support decision‑making for the startup ecosystem. The policy paper is organised around six pillars, beginning with the institutionalisation of a proposed Digital Entrepreneurship Resilience Index as a national, periodic and dynamic tool to assess ecosystem performance.

• Creation and institutionalisation of a Digital Entrepreneurship Resilience Index to measure startup ecosystem performance and resilience.
• Enactment of a dedicated startups law that incorporates positive discrimination measures to support emerging businesses.
• Introduction of a "Simplified Jordanian Shareholding Company" legal form with no minimum capital requirement to reduce incorporation barriers.
• Replacement of social security exemptions with a joint government guarantee system to enable startups to hire highly skilled professionals.
• Measures to align regulatory frameworks with digital transformation and investment facilitation.
• Strengthening linkages between incubators, investors and support programmes to channel funding and services to early‑stage companies.

Participants stressed institutional and regulatory reforms alongside concrete instruments to de‑risk hiring and investment. Ziad Masri, Executive Director of Programmes and Projects at the Information and Communications Technology Association of Jordan (int@j), highlighted the practical support layer: "Startups Go," the association's platform that connects entrepreneurs with funding opportunities, support programmes, and ecosystem partners.

Context and political momentum

Parliamentary engagement appeared to be already underway. MP Hussein Krishan said the government "is working to update a package of laws and regulations aimed at strengthening the entrepreneurship ecosystem and the digital economy," noting that draft legislation is being prepared to regulate investment funds and service providers while ensuring alignment with digital transformation requirements. Mu'ayyad Alawneh, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, warned that regional comparisons must consider Jordan's unique economic and regulatory environment but affirmed that the Kingdom "offers a supportive ecosystem for startup growth."

Outlook

The recommendations in the policy paper present a roadmap linking legislative reform, institutional measurement and practical support mechanisms. If adopted, the proposed startups law and the Simplified Jordanian Shareholding Company model could lower entry barriers and attract both local and regional investment. Implementation hinges on formal adoption of the resilience index and the drafting of the proposed regulatory bills for investment funds and service providers—steps that government and parliamentary actors indicated are already in motion.