Jordan's strong economy fuels Cisco's growth

Cisco's announcement comes at a time when Jordan is committed to harnessing the power of information and communications technologies (ICT) to drive growth and development in the country.

Fadi Moubarak, General Manager, Cisco Levant said:

"The vision of the country's leadership has allowed it to transition quickly to a 'connected' world. Jordan continues to reap the benefits of technology and offer the most innovative services to its citizens".

As part of its new expansion plans, Cisco is looking at doubling its current workforce in the Kingdom. Cisco's headcount in Jordan grew by five folds in the past 2 years, employing almost 20 business and technical Jordanian professionals who work on local and regional projects in and outside of Jordan.

Moreover, Cisco has appointed Ashraf Arafeh, as a new General Manager for Jordan and Palestine.

"Ashraf's role was created specifically for the Levant region and is demonstrative of the importance that Cisco places on developing and employing local talent in Jordan" added Moubarak.

In an effort to contribute to the development of Jordanian skilled workforce, Cisco has been working closely with the Kingdome's public and private organizations by investing considerable resources to roll out in education-specific programs.

For example, Cisco recently launched its Global Talent Acceleration Program (GTAP) in Amman.

This worldwide initiative is aimed at training and developing local network consulting engineers (NCEs) based in Jordan and other countries in Emerging Markets.

"Following the launch of the Global Talent Acceleration Program, Cisco is planning to host a group of talented Jordanian graduates who will be based in our Amman office and serving the MEA operations."

Cisco has also been very active in providing substantial funding, technology and resources towards the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI), an ambitious e-learning project that supports the Jordanian government's vision of building a knowledge-based economy.

Cisco Networking Academy program was also established in Jordan in 1998 and today has a total of 58 academies and about 6000 students enrolled in the program.

The Jordanian government has announced that ICT adoption is on its main agenda and has rolled out it's a new national strategy which has been put in place until 2011.

The plan comprises four key 'pillars' covering connectivity, research and development, labour and education and investment regulations. One of the main goals of the plan is to grow ICT revenues to $3bn by 2011.

"Jordan is a key area of growth for Cisco in the Levant region. We see a large opportunity to provide advanced technology solutions and services to a growing market such as SMBs by utilizing our strong partner relationships and technical expertise. With this in mind, we are taking the necessary steps to enhance our presence in the country," he added.

The government has also demonstrated commitment to the growth and development of Jordanian small and medium businesses (SMBs).

The Kingdom has one of the most dynamic SMB markets in the region with the economy being heavily dependent on the success of this sector.

Recent public reports indicate that Jordan has about 140,000 small and medium enterprises that employ over 33% of the total workforce.

SMBs also provide the majority of new jobs and produce much of the creativity and innovation that fuels economic progress.

"Jordan offers all the right ingredients for a successful ICT industry, such as skilled labour and a robust technology infrastructure," said Ashraf Arafeh, General Manager, Cisco Jordan.

"I am excited at the opportunity to join Cisco and contribute to the role that the company is playing in paving the way for Jordan to become a digital, knowledge-based economy," he concluded.