After a week full of youth-centered, entrepreneurial activities, Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship (QRCE) concluded the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) 2012, which aimed at promoting the culture of entrepreneurship and encouraging youth to adopt it as the basis for Jordan's economy development.In a panel discussion held at the closing ceremony, representatives from institutions concerned with entrepreneurship discussed opportunities and solutions to the challenges facing Jordanian entrepreneurs.

Being part of a global event organized in more than 120 countries around the world, the annual event brought together leading representatives from the worlds of diplomacy, business, academia, and civil society to shed light on entrepreneurial achievements and success stories of Jordanian entrepreneurs.

In the closing ceremony, QRCE's Executive Director, Eng. Farhan Kalaldeh, praised the event partners and supporters who played a significant role to make Jordan's fourth year hosting of GEW a huge success.

"We would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to all GEW supporters who enriched its agenda with seminars, field activities, and specialized workshops that fueled the spirit of entrepreneurship among youth participants, prompting them to adopt innovation as the basis for job creation and reducing unemployment," Kalaldeh said.

For his part, CEO of El Hassan Business Park, Eng. Omar Hamarneh, underscored the role of innovative thinking as a major source of new enterprises and viewed prospects of entrepreneurship development as part of the roadmap to wealth creation, employment generation and reduction of unemployment among Jordanian youth.

"To reach the largest pool of talents in Jordan, this year's event programs extended to cover different parts of the Kingdom. The activities which focused on various areas such as Microfinance, Social, Women and Technology Entrepreneurship, were designed to help in creating more awareness about entrepreneurship, and opportunities to start and grow successful businesses that will add value to the country," Hamarneh added.

In her turn, GEW coordinator at QRCE, Rawand Madi, highlighted the importance of leadership programs in refining the talents of the young people, saying, "This entrepreneurship-themed initiative will provide participants with the experience and knowledge they need to acquire before entering the world of business. It is a rich environment where innovators can cultivate their leadership skills and take their creative ideas to the next level."

With the support of Shop and Ship, powered by Aramex, and in partnership with more than 30 organizations, the GEW 2012 featured several academic lectures, seminars, and over 50 specialized workshops organized nationwide on the importance of entrepreneurship, small businesses, and self-employment, causes of business failure and business plan development.

GEW concluded with selecting Business Development Center (BDC) as the best event partner by a panel of judges, whereas the event jointly held by Injaz and the US Embassy in Jordan was selected as the best event organized during the week.