Mary-Louise Hoffman
Cisco has invested $6 million in a Jordan-based venture capital fund that backs entrepreneurs who are developing mobile, healthcare, digital media and e-commerce technologies.
The Badia Impact Fund was established to provide capital and networking support to Jordanian technology startups, Cisco said Thursday.
In May 2011, Cisco announced it would commit $10 million in funding for small business investment programs in the country.
Alan Chelko, Cisco’s manager for business development, said the investment aims to “help catalyse and accelerate tech innovation in Jordan and take technology investment in Jordan to the next level by addressing a key funding gap for early-stage Jordanian tech companies.”
Other fund sponsors includee Accelerator Technology Holdings, European Investment Bank and the King Abdullah Fund for Development.
Cisco says it has spent roughly $2 billion on equity investments in the U.S., Europe, China, India, Palestine and Israel to date.
