Jordan Times
Sunday, October 17, 2004
By Rami Abdelrahman
AMMAN — Jordan's first e-market place, Tejari-Jordan, is challenging the relatively small information technology market size, with a new strategy primarily focusing on building Jordan's e-commerce environment, by attracting companies to invest in the country's e-market.
Tejari's strategy seeks to utilise the local ICT sector's development, especially in telecommunication and Internet fields, to attract companies to trade, buy and procure online in a transparent cyber environment, the company's General Manager Yazan Hatamleh said.
“If we can best utilise the development of the sector, it would allow us to penetrate new markets and overcome the hurdles of doing business traditionally,” Hatamleh told a press conference on Thursday.
“Despite the small market size, technology can help companies create and penetrate new markets and open virtual representative offices in these markets without having to be physically there. This can tremendously cut on costs and increase efficiency,” Hatamleh added.
He noted that the company's new strategy is based on approaching companies in all fields and attracting more institutions to Tejari-Jordan's e-market place while providing their employees heavy training on using the web to enhance the feasibility of e-deals.
“The cyber world gives information on the kind of transactions done online quickly and freely and helps companies use time efficiently while guaranteeing good services and suitable prices,” he indicated.
The company finds its business opportunity in creating a nucleus for a cyber-trade environment in Jordan and in the Arab world, by rising above the traditional borders of using the services of the web, Hatamleh remarked. Currently, Tejari-Jordan's member companies have increased to more than 120 in less than two years, but Hatamleh expects this number to double in 2005.
The company's mother firm, the United Arab Emirates-based Tejari, provides the sourcing, negotiation and transaction environment for more than 3,000 of regional buyers throughout the Middle East and international suppliers to the region.