The Jordan Capital and Investment Fund is expanding deeper into venture capital as Jordan pushes to strengthen its position as a regional technology and innovation hub.

Jordan officially launched Manara Ventures, a USD 70.5 million (JOD 50M) investment fund. It will focus on backing Jordanian technology and technology-enabled startups with regional growth ambitions.

The fund, supported by regional institutional investors including Abu Dhabi-based Lunate, was registered in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) as a fully Sharia-compliant investment platform.

Why You Should Care

Jordan has long produced startup founders and technical talent that punch above the country’s economic size. The challenge has often been access to late early-stage and growth capital capable of helping startups scale beyond the domestic market.

Manara Ventures is targeting that gap directly.

The launch also reflects a broader regional trend. Gulf capital is increasingly flowing into MENA venture ecosystems through structured institutional vehicles rather than isolated startup investments. For Jordan, that could help strengthen funding pipelines for companies looking to expand across the region.

The fund plans to invest in more than 20 Jordanian growth-stage companies operating in technology or tech-enabled sectors. It will also reserve additional capital to support up to 15 high-performing companies pursuing regional expansion.

Investment tickets are expected to range between USD 750 thousand and USD 3 million, including follow-on rounds.

The fund aims to accelerate Jordan’s digital economy while strengthening the country’s role as a regional center for innovation and technology.

The Ripple

The launch comes as regional investors continue increasing exposure to MENA’s startup ecosystem through larger institutional platforms and cross-border partnerships.

For Jordanian startups, access to a dedicated growth-stage vehicle could help reduce one of the ecosystem’s longstanding bottlenecks: securing regional expansion capital without relocating operations abroad.

The partnership with Abu Dhabi-based Lunate also signals how Gulf financial centers are becoming increasingly integrated with Levant startup ecosystems, particularly through ADGM-based fund structures.

What to Watch

The key question now is whether Manara Ventures can help Jordanian startups scale into regional category leaders while remaining anchored in Jordan’s innovation ecosystem.

Attention will also turn to where the fund deploys its first investments and whether it prioritizes sectors where Jordan already has established founder depth, including fintech, SaaS, media, and digital infrastructure.