A new survey conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 job site, and market research agency, YouGov, entitled ‘Entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa 2021’ has found that almost two-thirds (65%) of Jordan residents prefer to be self-employed/have their own business if given the choice.
The survey found that higher monetary gains (49%) and personal fulfillment (47%) emerge as the top reasons for preferring to be self-employed. This is followed by the freedom to choose work-life balance (43%) and ability to give back to the community (40%).
Those who have already started their business seem to have similar reasoning. When asked about the reasons MENA professionals have for starting their own business, the top three reasons were: ‘wanted to do what I love’ (29%), ‘having a great business idea’ (28%) and ‘to achieve a better work-life balance’ (24%).
Of those who prefer to seek employment in a company in Jordan, the main reasons for their preference are: benefits and perks (46%), regular income (40%) and learning new skills (37%).
“Wealth creation is not the only driver for MENA entrepreneurs, who increasingly tend to be aspirational in other ways. Our survey aims to understand the views of entrepreneurs as a way to maximize impact and drive growth and Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com. “As part of our research strategy, Baytovation in the economy,” said .com will continue to research topics that provide professionals in the entrepreneurial ecosystem with credible data to make informed decisions.”
Entrepreneurship continues to be a growing trend in Jordan. Despite the given challenges of setting up a business, the survey indicates that entrepreneurship has become more popular than ever before. When it comes to those who are currently employed, 46% are currently thinking of starting their own business, 28% of respondents have tried to start their own business in the past, while only 17% only never thought of starting their own business.
Many entrepreneurs are looking to grow their startups and establish business. Over a third (37%) of MENA respondents have personal ambitions to grow their business further in their country of residence, followed by 27% who aim to become a major international group. In fact, with growth in mind, 69% of Jordan respondents are planning to hire for their business in the next year.
Out of those who are self-employed in the MENA region, 38% are at the startup stage of the business, while another 28% say that their business is established but not performing well. On the other hand, 15% say their business is well established and performing well.
The top concern of Jordan respondents while setting up their own business, would be procuring finances to start (69%) and hiring the wrong people (39%).
The most appealing industries for entrepreneurship are considered to be IT/ Internet/ E-commerce (16%), Manufacturing (9%), Commerce/ Trade/ Retail (6%) and Consumer Goods/ FMCG (6%).
