The EU and SAM Engineering Consortium to establish a Jordan Industry 4.0 Innovation Centre

Amman, 16 Aug. 2020: The European Union (EU) and SAM Engineering and Trade Co., as a leading partner of a Jordanian-European Consortium, signed a €4.4 million agreement to establish the first of its kind, private sector-led Innovation Centre of Excellence to promote digital manufacturing in Jordan.  

The new centre aims to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, by seizing opportunities and accelerating the adoption of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) and Digitalization solutions to enhance the competitiveness of the manufacturing and IT sectors in Jordan.

Leveraging the trends of the fourth industrial revolution, the Centre will support the digital transformation of traditional manufacturing companies and help them introduce new industrial practices, or new smart technology, to increase automation and productivity.

Several awareness raising, capacity building, and purpose-oriented grants targeting individual companies or business clusters, and other activities will be offered and implemented in the coming few years. Special attention will also be given to youth and women with entrepreneurial spirit.

Welcoming this new initiative with SAM engineering and the Consortium of Jordanian and European partners, the  EU Ambassador to Jordan, H.E. Maria Hadjitheodosiou underlined that “the COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that the need for digital solutions and technology has become a necessity. We hope that with the establishment of this new Innovation Centre, we will help in transforming the local manufacturing and tech companies so that they become more competitive in the digital economy context.”

CEO of SAM Engineering Fouad Ayasrah said: “The Consortium is thrilled to partner with the European Union establishing the Industry 4.0 Digitalization Innovation Centre to modernize and make industries and value chains in Jordan more competitive and productive in the global and digital economy.” Ayasrah added: “We are happy to join our efforts to benefit all target groups of this EU action.”

Through this partnership, each of the partners will utilise their expertise for the success of the Centre; SAM Engineering is specialized in operational technologies and industrial automation, while the Amman Chamber of Industry will operate as the link and main proponent of the industrial sector. As one of the leading innovation consultancies, IBTECAR collaborates in the field of Innovation Management and New Technology Trends. The European partner, Transition Technologies Advanced Solutions (TT) from Poland, provides knowledge transfer and Proof of Concept expertise in Industry 4.0 Digitalization, while the transfer company TUM-Tech from Germany, which works closely with the Technical University of Munich (TUM), delivers innovative concepts and tech and knowledge transfer between experts from research institutions and the private sector.

The Jordan Industry 4.0 Digitalisation Innovation Centre is co-funded by the EU’s “Innovation for Enterprise Growth and Jobs” programme, also known as ‘Innovate Jordan’.

Background:

About the Innovate Jordan Programme

The ‘Innovation for Enterprise Growth and Jobs’ (‘Innovate Jordan’ in short) is a 4 years programme of the European Union, EUR 20 million worth. The overall objective is to demonstrate how private sector innovation can be the main driver of inclusive economic development and promote systematic change and coherence in the enterprise and innovation ecosystem in Jordan through piloting private sector led innovation initiatives.

The programme aims to provide space and opportunity for innovative enterprises to scale and grow, to improve access to innovation infrastructure facilities, financing and services, and to promote culture of innovation, through pilot initiatives and communication actions, supporting the open innovation lifecycle from ideation to international growth exploitation.

The Jordan Industry 4.0 and Digitalization Innovation Centre from the EU and the Consortium around SAM Engineering is one of the three grant initiatives envisaged by the programme.

Additional Information

For more information on the EU’s programme and the Consortium Partners, please visit our websites:

https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/jordan_en

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