Sunnyvale, California (April 9, 2015) – A group of Jordanian professionals living abroad, including Silicon Valley executives, gathered for the first time yesterday as part of the Jordanian Diaspora Network. This is an effort to support entrepreneurship and market access for their compatriots in Jordan. The Network is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“We’ve all heard about ‘brain drain,’ highly qualified professionals leaving their home countries to pursue work and advancement abroad,” said Niels Nielsen, an advisor to the USAID Jordan Competitiveness Program. “The Jordanian Diaspora Network is about ‘brain gain,’ leveraging a talented and resourceful community of professionals abroad to create new business opportunities for their fellow Jordanians.”

Through the network and its new online portal, Connect.jo, Jordan-based professionals can collaborate with their peers abroad to share expertise and explore new market opportunities. The initial focus is on information and communication technology, clean technology, and healthcare and life sciences. Jordanian students in these fields can also find scholarships and internship opportunities.

According to the International Diaspora Engagement Alliance, a joint initiative of the U.S. State Department and USAID, more than 700,000 Jordanians live abroad. By keeping these individuals engaged in Jordan’s economy, the Jordan Diaspora Network aims to retain their skills and knowledge in order to spur investment and growth

Zaid Ayoub, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur from Jordan who helped form the network, said the country needs more than “bricks and mortar” development. “Like many developing countries, what Jordan needs is a vibrant knowledge economy—a foundation for increasing investment, creating jobs, and driving exports,” Ayoub said. “And the heart of any knowledge economy is, of course, a skilled and entrepreneurial workforce.”   

The USAID Jordan Competitiveness Program has forged partnerships between Jordanian businesses and leading global firms to help bolster local talent, including through USAID-funded certification courses. Among the program’s training partners are tech giants Intel and Microsoft

For more information about the Jordan Diaspora Network, please contact Zaid Ayoub at info@connect.jo.    

For more information about USAID-Jordan, log on to http://www.usaid.gov/Jordan and https://www.facebook.com/USAIDJordan