World Bank Awards ISSF Highest Rating for Catalysing Jordan's Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

Amman — The Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF) announced that the World Bank’s Implementation Completion and Results Report (ICR) awarded the Fund a "Highly Satisfactory" rating, the highest category in the institution’s evaluation framework. The ICR, completed at the end of March 2026 and covering ISSF’s first phase through 2025, credited the Fund with surpassing operational and investment targets, mobilizing $108.97 million in private capital across 160 Jordanian startup transactions and supporting a combined investment ecosystem of approximately $338 million.

"This international assessment ... crowned the Fund's performance with the 'Highly Satisfactory' rating from the World Bank, the highest classification in the evaluation framework," said Mohammad Al-Muhtaseb, ISSF Chief Executive Officer.

Performance, governance and catalytic impact

The World Bank report framed ISSF as a "mature model of smart intervention" in local and regional venture capital markets, highlighting management efficiency, governance and resource management. ISSF was launched in 2018 with $98 million in funding: $50 million through a World Bank financing agreement with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and $48 million in a direct investment from the Central Bank of Jordan. The Fund was established as an independent, privately governed joint-stock company operating to international investment fund best practices.

Al-Muhtaseb emphasized the Fund’s catalytic role and broader ecosystem support: "The Fund played a pivotal role in structuring the venture capital market, stimulating the economic cycle, and strengthening the competitiveness of the national economy." He noted ISSF allocated $4.6 million to business development services, investment readiness, and incubator and accelerator programs, and launched a Startups Platform in partnership with the Information Technology Association of Jordan (Intaj) and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship.

Key results and economic impact

• 160 startups supported — 135 through investment funds and 25 directly
• $108.97 million mobilized in private capital; leverage of roughly 2x–3x per ISSF dollar
• 22 investment funds attracted to the Jordanian market
• Approximately $338 million total investment rounds across local, Arab and international VC
• 2,600 direct jobs created and an estimated 5,500–10,000 indirect jobs; 56% of opportunities to youth and 37% to females
• 26% of supported startups are women-led

The World Bank singled out ISSF’s openness to regional and international capital and its disciplined investment policy, which multiplied invested capital by 2.5 times through the venture capital fund portfolio and attracted funds that had not previously entered Jordan. ISSF’s model prioritized attracting private investors without displacing them, according to Al-Muhtaseb.

Outlook and funding gap

Despite the favorable assessment, the report flagged continued financing demand: projections estimate a funding gap of $234 million to $885 million for 2025–2030. Al-Muhtaseb framed this shortfall as an opportunity, saying the gap "signals a genuine market growth opportunity" and underlining the potential for replicating Jordan’s model in other markets.

Al-Muhtaseb also stressed the importance of partnerships with the World Bank and the Central Bank of Jordan in embedding governance, compliance and risk-management frameworks that supported the Fund’s performance and its ability to draw regional and global capital into Jordan’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.