ALKHOBAR, 20 January — I like it a lot when I see high-tech companies donating their products to support and enhance worthy causes. It is one way that technology firms can help the less fortunate on our planet in bridging the digital divide. Inmarsat, a leading provider of global mobile satellite communications solutions, has now made total communication access possible for Jordanian doctors leaving on mercy missions overseas to provide urgently needed medical aid to people suffering as a result of conflict or disaster. The team will use Inmarsat’s mini-M satellite mobile terminals to maintain contact with control centers. The Jordanian medical relief mission extends medical support to people in crises through a "moving hospital" model and the satellite terminal is what is needed to remain in touch with the rest of the world. Inmarsat has donated the terminal equipment required by the mission, as well as free airtime for the next three months. Inmarsat technology is already widely used by war correspondents broadcasting from the frontlines. It is also popular with aid agencies, which use Inmarsat satellite phones to coordinate their activities in areas lacking communications networks.
Speaking of Jordan, it was interesting to note that representatives from Jordan’s Investment Board (JIB) were hard at work earlier this month at GITEX Hyderabad. Mohammad Asfour, JIB promotion officer, stated that they were at the exhibition introducing India’s IT community to the idea of developing joint efforts in the future especially where IT companies in India are attempting to break into the Middle East market. Asfour said that Jordanian human resources could help Indian IT companies bring down the language barriers in marketing, customer service and product customizations.
The Jordanians have been working harder than ever since Sept. 11 to promote their IT industry. The terrorist attacks in the United States and the continuing problems in Palestine have been extremely damaging to the Jordanian economy. Some sectors like tourism have been severely crippled. Fifty percent of Jordan’s population is under 16 years of age. Official estimates put Jordan’s unemployment rate at 15 percent. A more realistic unemployment figure is thought to be around 30 percent. The population pressures coupled with high unemployment, a massive debt burden, and slow economic growth have meant that the Jordanian government must work hard to prevent the nation’s economic crises from leading to political instability.
Dr. Fawaz H. Zu’bi, Jordanian minister of post and communications, is considered to be one of the most dynamic members of King Abdallah’s Cabinet. In October 2001, Zu’bi accepted the "e-Visionary’ award at the Arabian Business e-Achievement Awards 2001 ceremony held in Dubai. The e-Visionary Award is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the "e-volutionization" of the Middle East’s public or private sector. This award also recognizes the potential of technology to improve society, education and business while bringing new opportunities for the community to develop.
Zu’bi is a founding member of the Jordan Trade Association and the Jordan Quality Association. He is also a founding member of the Young Entrepreneurs Association and a director of its board. Born in Amman in 1956, Zu’bi graduated in 1982 with a Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering and Physics from Duke University, North Carolina.
Zu’bi is tasked with helping to carry out Jordan’s IT development plan. The vision for Jordan’s future was first articulated on June 30, 1999, when King Abdallah asked Jordan’s information technology leaders to develop a concrete proposal aimed at strengthening Jordan’s IT sector. In response, IT leaders and key members of the Jordan Computer Society (JCS) devised the REACH Initiative, a comprehensive framework that embraces actions in the following areas:
Regulatory framework
Enabling environment and infrastructure
Advancement of national IT programs
Capital and finance
Human resource development.
Presented to King Abdallah in October 1999, the REACH report laid out a clear plan of action to bolster the country’s nascent IT sector and maximize its ability to compete in local, regional and global markets. It took a critical look at Jordan’s strengths and weaknesses vis-a-vis other relevant competitors. Most importantly, it outlined a five-year plan, specifying actions to be implemented by the private sector, the government, and by other stakeholders — to ensure a favorable place for Jordan in the Internet-based e-economy.
How is Jordan’s IT industry working toward achieving its goals with the world’s economy in a slump? "First of all it must be understood that Jordan is in the very, very early stages of building up its IT industry," said Zu’bi. "In the teething stages as you know there are days when things are down and other days when things are looking up. Some of the companies started out with ambitious programs to service the US market and those companies got hit. But others who were not concentrating on the US market have really done quite well and continue to grow. It’s not even two years yet since the IT industry started so it would be impossible for us to have created giants.
"What we have done is to create very solid steps for companies that can have a beautiful potential and we are concentrating in a big way on what I believe to be our natural extension — the Arab world. In the Arab world, there are 300 million people who are waiting for technology to reach them, to enable them to improve their lives and open new opportunities. This is where we have to concentrate. So in these difficult economic times I don’t feel down. I think that the potential is huge but we have to be patient."
Being patient is important but so is being systematic. Jordan realizes that its IT industry will not succeed if it attempts to grow it in a vacuum. The Jordanian government and the private sector are determined to cooperate and benefit from the growth of the IT and communications sectors in neighboring countries.
"The way I look at things, first of all we must internally create the environment that’s proper for our IT industry to grow, the connectivity to take place," explained Zu’bi. "Then we understand very clearly that no matter how sophisticated you get in one country, without the countries around you in the region eventually connecting up to you and creating a common platform, not much of an improvement is possible. We have a golden opportunity today. We have champions in several Arab countries who are showing a lot of drive to create beautiful infrastructure. We have a private sector which is slowly realizing that it can really offer world class service in software development and in other IT services.
"After Sept. 11, initially the IT industry in Jordan reacted with a lot of apprehension. But now we are looking at things and saying, ‘Okay, that was a disaster for the world, but it does not mean in any way that we will lessen our drive or change our course.’ We have set up a strategy for ourselves and the extension of that strategy is to go with other Arab countries and for us IT is relatively new. Thus, we are going with those who are championing it. In some cases we are moving along together with them or in other cases behind them if they are ahead of us in one area or another. Dubai and Egypt are good examples of nations with strong drive. Tunisia is also very keen on developing its IT industry. Morocco in the telecoms is also doing very nicely. Anywhere there is a success story, we’re going to run after it or with it."
Zu’bi does not deny that the Jordanian government has much pinned on the success of the IT initiatives. He believes that the government must continue to be a driver in Jordan’s IT evolution. As a part of that government, he feels that his role is to focus on the objectives and keep them moving forward — no matter what.
"First and foremost my role is to ensure that we remain focused on being positive," Zu’bi emphasized. "We must remain focused on maintaining the strategy we set out with because it’s going to be a successful one. It is important for me to make sure that people understand that information technology is not a luxury item. They should not believe that it’s better to put bread on the table than computers. I think that what people must understand is what you’re creating here with IT is a new tool which will give people opportunities to create new opportunities for themselves. In doing so you are opening a new world for them which will help bring bread to the table. We must be patient and understand that it’s a process and we must support each other and work together for progress.
"All of this did not happen out of nowhere. I believe our private and public partnership is unlike anywhere else in the world. Especially in our telecom and IT sector. This partnership based itself on what the private sector saw to be the future strategy of Jordan and the requirement for the country in terms of telecoms, in terms of IT, and in terms of investment. When you have a government saying that it subscribes to the vision of the private sector and that government makes that vision its strategy, you cannot but succeed."
But Zu’bi agreed that while the private sector knows its needs, there must be a leader willing to champion them and willing to come to the nation and articulate the policy and goals in a language that all can understand.
"We have one big champion, our king," said Zu’bi. "He brought in the young people of the IT sector and he said I want to do this. How can we do it together? Then other champions started sprouting up from the private sector and we were able to create a concise, focused strategy for the development of IT in the nation. It’s important to remember that there will always be resistance and people who want to try to sabotage your path forward. That means that you must be willing to come and say to those who oppose you, let us show you the success stories on which our plans are based, and explain why we need to make these changes.
"Let me tell you, Jordan is ready for change. You can feel it. I wish I could explain it in a more solid manner than that but I cannot. A lot of times it’s the ignorance that tries to derail plans. People are afraid of what they don’t know. It’s natural. Then when you start explaining the strategy to them and you make them understand that this is a process that will take time and you manage their expectations in a nice way and make sure that in the process you include them, then slowly, slowly things move forward."
What would Zu’bi like to see in the development of the IT industry in the Arab world? "We should not see each other as competitors," he said. "Let’s make sure that we focus on a common vision together. Integrate what we are doing together and build it so that it serves its purpose for us all. If we all work together this is where we add value. Then information technology serves to unite and support us all."
***
(Comments: [email protected])