US and European demand push Jordan’s ICT exports 30% higher

The country is building up again in the sector, having attracted $1 billion in investment four years ago.

Jordan’s information and communications (ICT) technology exports grew 30 per cent last year as greater interest from the United States and Europe fuelled demand for the country’s IT expertise, according to the ICT Association of Jordan, int@j.

Total information technology revenue last year totalled US$617 million, with 24 per cent of the exports landing in Saudi Arabia and 20 per cent heading to the US. Iraq imported 12 per cent from Jordan’s IT sector and the UAE followed at 10 per cent.

Foreign direct investment in the sector increased by $2.5m last year to $146m, helping to boost employment.

The domestic revenues, however, declined by almost 40 per cent to $317m, and the overall sector declined 16 per cent. At its height, the IT sector brought in close to $1 billion for Jordan in 2009, but the global economic slowdown and political disputes in the region have negatively affected the sector.

“The domestic revenues declined because of a complete hold on public spending on e-health, e-government and other infrastructure projects. There is also the general economic slowdown,” said Jawad Abbassi, the chairman of int@j.

“The government keeps fiddling with a good thing. Our message to the government is, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. It is important to emulate a monopoly-free environment that is efficient.”

Jordan has historically enjoyed a vibrant IT industry, with government funding in IT education and technology zones and funding for start-ups in place.

According to int@j, the ICT sector is worth $3.2bn and contributes some 14 per cent to the country’s GDP.