Arab Bank has signed a deal with Oasis500, a premier early stage and seed investment company based in Amman, to invest JD250,000 ($352,609) in Oasis Venture 1 (OV1).

The OV1 aims to facilitate investment in information and communications technology and digital media entrepreneurial projects in Jordan.

The signing of the private placement memorandum is in line with King Abdullah II’s directives to support entrepreneurship within Jordan’s ICT sector, said Abdel Hamid Shoman, chairman of Arab Bank.

It also reflects Arab Bank’s commitment to achieving socio-economic development, he added.

Oasis500 said it aims to accomplish its goal of accelerating the launch of 500 start-up companies within the next five years, which will support the creation of job opportunities within the fastest growing sectors in the world.

'We appreciate the continuous co-operation of Arab Bank, which reflects its deep-rooted understanding of the importance of creating investment opportunities and enabling environments that allow entrepreneurs to grow and succeed,' noted Dr Usama Fayyad, chairman of Oasis500 and former Executive VP and chief data officer of Yahoo! Inc.

'This, without a doubt, will support economic development, which is a goal that we are striving to accomplish by combining the efforts of both public and private sector organizations,' he added.

Dina Shoman, executive VP of Branding at Arab Bank said, “Oasis500 is an important initiative for the country, and provides the full cycle of support to upcoming entrepreneurs that Jordan can be proud of.”

“Investing in OV1 is part of our commitment to facilitating economic growth in the Kingdom as a driving force behind social development and job creation,” she added.-TradeArabia News Service