His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday urged entrepreneurs to support new projects and enterprises to assist in overcoming the problems of poverty and unemployment.

During a meeting with business entrepreneurs, King Abdullah encouraged them to support the Governorates Development Fund with innovative ideas and contribute to its success.

The King commended the entrepreneurs’ efforts to improve the country’s economic situation and contribute to its development.

Political reform is proceeding steadily, His Majesty said, and must go hand-in-hand with economic reform and under the framework of a real partnership between the public and the private sectors.

Their Majesties the King and Queen Rania earlier on Thursday received five of the businesswomen who were present at the meeting, for a briefing on their projects, their contributions to their community and their innovative ideas. They recounted how they started a full-fledged enterprise from simple ideas, and how they built their new businesses and managed to penetrate regional and international markets.

Ahmad Issa Khatib returned from the US in 2010 and used his experience in the field of e-business to establish an online shopping company. At first, his idea did not interest Jordanian investors, which led Khatib and six other young Jordanians to rent a store in Wadi Seer with a capital of JD7,000. By the end of their first month in business, they had made JD60,000 in revenues. Supported by a Belgian investor to the tune of JD500,000, their MarkaVIP boomed into one of the most successful online shopping companies in the Middle East, and is now worth JD22 million.

Hassib Sahyoun recounted the story of MedLabs, which employs 250 people, has obtained US and European accreditation, in addition to winning the King Abdullah II Award for Excellence in the Private Sector.

In 2006, Ramez Kalis and three of his friends introduced Jordan’s first free-standing, independent call centre. CrysTelCall is a leading contact centre providing a full range of inbound and outbound contact centre and outsourcing services. The company started with a capital of JD650,000 and currently has 250 employees.

Rabie Zreiqat launched the “tourism exchange” project, which seeks to enhance communication between various communities in the Kingdom and bridge social gaps between people in rural areas and cities.

Developing a ceramic workshop started by her mother and aunt, Samar Habayeb has reached several Arab countries and placed her products on display at the British Museum, and soon at the Louvre Museum.