ISSF’s $7 Million Buys a Seat in Endeavor Catalyst V

Jordan’s Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund committed $7 million to Endeavor Catalyst V on June 13, 2026. The cheque opens ISSF’s second investment cycle and goes into a $300 million co-investment fund that backs high-growth companies in more than 60 countries.

ISSF chief executive Mohammad Al-Muhtasib and Endeavor Catalyst managing partner Allen Taylor signed in Amman, with Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Minister Sami Smeirat in the room. They called the deal a path from local startups to global venture money. Catalyst only writes cheques to Endeavor entrepreneurs already raising a large round led by another firm.

ISSF’s $7 Million Is an LP Ticket in Catalyst V

ISSF is a fund of funds. It puts capital into other managers and, on a smaller scale, into companies beside a lead investor. This ticket is the first disclosed commitment of Fund II, after Fund I ran through 2025.

The parties said the partnership would connect Jordanian startups with international venture sources and ease late-stage funding gaps as firms try to grow beyond the Kingdom. Al-Muhtasib said it would let ISSF keep building Jordan’s venture market. That language treats the $7 million as if it were dry powder for Amman. On Catalyst’s books it is limited-partner capital in a global vehicle.

THE ISSF TICKET IN CONTEXT

• The cheque: ISSF committed $7 million to Endeavor Catalyst V on June 13, 2026.
• The vehicle: Catalyst V is a $300 million co-investment fund spanning more than 60 countries.
• The share: $7 million is 2.3 percent of that $300 million.
• The prior ticket: ISSF put $2 million into Endeavor Catalyst III in 2020.

A 2.3 percent LP stake does not steer the fund toward Jordan. Returns, losses and follow-on pacing follow the whole book. Jordanian founders see cash if they are already inside Endeavor’s selection net and if a qualified firm is leading a round Catalyst is allowed to join.

How Catalyst Writes Checks Without Leading Rounds

Endeavor Catalyst, founded in 2012, is Endeavor’s investment arm. It invests exclusively in Endeavor Entrepreneur-led companies and is built to help fund Endeavor’s own work. It does not lead rounds, does not set terms and does not take board seats. It follows on the lead’s terms.

HOW CATALYST V PUTS MONEY TO WORK

• Who qualifies: The company must be led by an Endeavor Entrepreneur.
• Round size: The equity round has to be at least $5 million.
• Who leads: A qualified institutional investor must lead; Catalyst does not.
• Board: Catalyst takes no board seat and does not negotiate terms.

ISSF said the deal would ensure a direct flow of funding to promising projects in the Kingdom. Under those rules, “direct” still means a follow-on cheque into a company that Endeavor has already chosen and that another firm is already banking. Founders outside that net, or raising smaller rounds, do not get a Catalyst V cheque because ISSF is an LP.

Long-term partnerships in markets where we have a strong investment conviction are more important than the timing of market cycles.

Allen Taylor, Managing Partner, Endeavor Catalyst, at the Amman signing

Taylor added that Endeavor entered Jordan in 2009 as its first market in the MENA region and has stayed through several investment cycles. He said a long presence produces the strongest opportunities and insights. The 2025 annual report counts nearly 400 investments across 37 countries, with about $70 million put to work in 50 new deals that year. Latin America still accounts for roughly 40 percent of the book. Europe and the Middle East together are close to one-third. The busiest new-deal countries in 2025, after Brazil’s ten, were Nigeria, Poland, Spain, Argentina and the UAE. Jordan was not on that list.

A $2 Million Preview Landed in 2020

This is a larger sequel, not a first date. In September 2020, Endeavor Catalyst closed Fund III at $134 million. ISSF put in $2 million. Other Jordanian limited partners added $1.7 million. Taylor, then managing director, announced the close. The new $7 million ticket is 3.5 times that ISSF cheque.

Laith Al Qasem, then ISSF chief executive, said Catalyst would put Jordanian scale-ups on a global stage and open markets, capital and mentors. Reem Goussous, then managing director of Endeavor Jordan, said the ISSF money would go toward investing in Jordanian scale-ups. Six years later the structure is the same: ISSF is an LP, Catalyst still only follows Endeavor entrepreneurs, and any Jordan cheque still depends on who gets selected and who leads the round.

THE ENDEAVOR-ISSF TIMELINE

1. 2009: Endeavor enters Jordan as its first MENA market.
2. 2012: Endeavor Catalyst launches as a rules-based co-investment fund.
3. June 23, 2017: The World Bank board approves the Innovative Startups Fund Project.
4. September 23, 2018: ISSF launches in Jordan with $50 million from the World Bank and $48 million from the Central Bank of Jordan.
5. September 2020: ISSF commits $2 million to Endeavor Catalyst III, a $134 million fund.
6. June 30, 2025: The World Bank project for Fund I closes.
7. June 13, 2026: ISSF commits $7 million to Endeavor Catalyst V, the first disclosed Fund II ticket.

By the end of 2025, Catalyst had raised $540 million-plus across four funds and backed 680-plus Endeavor entrepreneurs leading 395-plus companies. Fund IV closed at $292 million in 2022. Fund V is the fifth and largest vehicle.

Fund I Left With a Highly Satisfactory Grade

ISSF used the World Bank’s grade on Fund I as the political floor for Fund II. On May 5, 2026, the fund published the Implementation Completion and Results Report for project P161905, completed March 31, 2026. The report gave the project a Highly Satisfactory overall outcome, the top mark in the Bank’s scale. The original aim was to raise private early-stage equity for innovative SMEs.

Al-Muhtasib said the review showed Fund I had beaten most operating and investment targets despite regional stress. The World Bank is ISSF’s main shareholder on the $50 million IBRD loan. The Central Bank of Jordan put in $48 million. Together that is a $98 million fund, registered in Jordan as a private shareholding company.

FUND I ON THE WORLD BANK SCORECARD

ISSF also cited a 2x to 3x leverage on each dollar it invested, inside a wider round total of about $338 million. The same May briefing put the remaining financing gap for 2025 through 2030 at $234 million to $885 million. That range is the hole Fund II is supposed to chip at. A $7 million LP ticket in a global fund is one chip, not a fill.

Tamatem, Altibbi and the Jordan Book

Endeavor is not new to Jordanian cap tables. When Fund III closed, Catalyst had already invested in Kharabeesh, Altibbi, Mawdoo3 and Jamalon. The 2026 ISSF materials name a later Jordan set. Endeavor Investment is already listed among ISSF’s partner funds.

JORDANIAN COMPANIES CATALYST HAS ALREADY BACKED

• Tamatem Games: An Amman mobile-games publisher named in the 2026 ISSF briefing.
• Altibbi: A health company in both the 2020 Fund III list and the 2026 list.
• EON Dental, Tarjama and ZenHR: Named by ISSF as prior Catalyst-backed Jordanian startups.
• Replit: An AI software firm founded by Jordanian entrepreneurs Amjad Masad and Haya Odeh, cited at a $9 billion valuation.

Replit is the slide ISSF and Endeavor put on the table in Amman. It shows what a Jordanian founding team can build once global capital shows up. It does not show that Catalyst V has a Jordan sleeve. ISSF said it expects the partnership to put part of the fund’s investments into Jordanian ventures. No share, no count of names and no side letter has been published.

$42 Million Is Earmarked for Fund Bets

Fund II is a World Bank sequel, ISSF 2.0, backed by a fresh $50 million IBRD loan. The April 2025 factsheet sets aside $42 million for fund-of-funds investments, $3 million for direct co-investments beside lead VCs, and $5 million for project management and training. The project is meant to run through July 31, 2030.

ISSF 2.0 MONEY MAP

The $7 million Catalyst V ticket is the first named Fund II commitment. It fits the $42 million fund-of-funds line in spirit: ISSF is buying into a manager, not wiring growth capital to a Jordanian company. The $3 million direct sleeve is the line that would sit beside a lead on a local deal. That sleeve is smaller than this single LP ticket.

A February 2026 World Bank update, issued before the June signing, said ISSF 2.0 had moved into implementation in October 2025 and that $5.13 million of the $50 million loan had been paid out, with $44.88 million still to go. Those drawdown figures are the Bank’s loan, not Catalyst’s capital calls.

Jordan Still Faces a Wide Late-Stage Funding Gap

The May ISSF briefing put the 2025-2030 financing gap at $234 million to $885 million. Against that, $7 million in a $300 million global fund is a relationship bet. It buys information, a seat among Catalyst’s other LPs, and a chance that the next Tamatem or Altibbi round is large enough, and Endeavor-selected enough, for Catalyst to follow.

It does not reserve follow-on cash for Jordanian payrolls. Catalyst’s 2025 pace went to Brazil, Nigeria, Poland, Spain, Argentina and the UAE. The Middle East is a faster region for the firm than it was a decade ago. Jordan still has to produce the founders, the $5 million-plus rounds and the lead investors that make a co-invest cheque possible.

Taylor’s line about conviction over cycles is the honest frame. Endeavor has been in Amman since 2009. ISSF has been an LP since 2020. Fund II starts by doubling down on that channel, at 3.5 times the old ticket, while the late-stage gap the World Bank flagged still runs into the hundreds of millions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund?

ISSF is a Jordanian private shareholding company set up so the government could put public money into venture funds and, in smaller tickets, into startups. The borrower on the World Bank loan is the Government of Jordan through the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, and the implementing agencies named on the project are ISSF and the Jordan Loan Guarantee Corporation.

How Does Endeavor Catalyst Choose Companies?

A founder has to clear Endeavor’s selection process, then raise an equity round of at least $5 million led by a qualified institution. Catalyst’s investment committee checks that the deal meets those rules, invests on the lead’s terms and stays off the board. Fees on Catalyst V materials have been described as no management fee, with expenses run to a budget.

Did ISSF Invest in an Earlier Endeavor Catalyst Fund?

Yes. In September 2020 ISSF committed $2 million to Endeavor Catalyst III, which closed at $134 million, and other Jordanian limited partners added $1.7 million, for $3.7 million of Jordan capital in that fund. The 2026 ticket is 3.5 times ISSF’s own 2020 cheque.

What World Bank Rating Did ISSF’s First Phase Receive?

The Implementation Completion and Results Report on loan 8767-JO, report ICR00617, rated the overall outcome Highly Satisfactory. The Bank finished that report on March 31, 2026, and ISSF presented it in Amman on May 5, 2026, six weeks before the Catalyst V signing.

Until Catalyst names the next Jordanian company it actually funds from Fund V, the $7 million remains a seat on a global book, and the $234 million to $885 million gap remains the figure Jordan still has to fill with lead cheques of its own.

Disclaimer: This article is news reporting and analysis of a public investment commitment. It is for information only and is not investment advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to commit capital to ISSF, Endeavor Catalyst V, or any startup named here. Readers who are considering an investment in a fund or a private company should consult a licensed financial adviser and, where relevant, legal counsel before acting. Figures, ratings and fund statuses are those published by ISSF, Endeavor and the World Bank on the dates cited and can change with later capital calls, valuations and reviews.