The first National “Green start–ups meet investors” in Jordan took place in Amman at the “The Tank” – Innovation Center the 29th of July with the aim of gathering entrepreneurs and financial actors to show the business ideas solutions to potential investors in order to promote the access to finance for green entrepreneurs.
With the support of our local partner in Jordan ALMAKAN, a two-days training workshops were organized, in which the entrepreneurs enhanced their communication skills. Then, a total of 8 companies were selected to present their business ideas in a demo day event in front of potential investors and relevant stakeholders. For example, to name a few : the National Microfinance Bank in Jordan, Oasis500, Arab Science and Technology Foundation, Injaz and UN representatives.
¨For the entrepreneurs, this is an excellent opportunity; some of them are unexperienced when it comes about pitching in front of potential investors, thus allowing them to improve their performance. In addition, the investors who attended the events shared with them valuable knowledge and tips and provide them feedback in how to improve the business and the presentation¨, explained Claudia Pani, our SwitchMed project manager.
According to the investors, the SwitchMed Programme is supporting innovative companies to bring competitive solution to a great challenge. This is why explaining in a straightforward way the problem that they are addressing and the solution that they have identified is crucial when developing a pitch. The investors concluded that this has to be clearly highlighted in any entrepreneurs business’ presentation.
(Jordanian selected start-ups participating at this event)
During the event, the entrepreneurs also learned that is of paramount importance to target properly their market or niche. Their business can only win by marketing smart so creating a customer acquisition strategy is a very important early-stage question. While pitching, a precise and simple service/product description is needed to capture the attention of the audience. During the event, the entrepreneurs also had the opportunity to network with the potential investors aiming at closing deals in the future.
Finally, out of the 8 companies that pitched, investors, SwitchMed local partners and team selected one company who will be winning a trip to the SwitchMed Connect 2018 in Barcelona. The winner in Jordan was Amina Abu Hamdeh, our incubated green entrepreneur, who is launching an enterprise called Healthy Green Gold, the first locally produced wheat grass extract to make health & personal care products.
