Jordan’s Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF) committed $7 million to Endeavor Catalyst V on Saturday, in a deal announced in Amman and reported by the country’s official Petra news agency. The investment is the first commitment of ISSF’s Fund II and a step into a $300 million global co-investment fund that has deployed capital across more than 60 countries.
The agreement was signed by ISSF CEO Mohammad Al-Muhtasib and Endeavor Catalyst Managing Partner Allen Taylor, with Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Sami Smirat in attendance, per Waya Media. Catalyst Fund V is sector-agnostic and focused on emerging markets, sitting inside Endeavor, a global network that selects and supports high-growth founders. ISSF framed the deal as a way to channel international venture capital to Jordanian startups that struggle to raise the larger rounds needed to scale abroad.
ISSF Commits $7M to a $300M Global Fund
ISSF is a Jordanian fund of funds. It backs early-stage startups and SMEs by investing in venture capital funds and by writing direct checks, with a stated mandate to mobilize private capital for riskier bets that domestic banks will not underwrite. The $7 million commitment to Endeavor Catalyst V, signed in Amman on June 13, is the first deal of the fund’s second investment cycle, known as Fund II. Fund I ran from 2018 through 2025, according to the Petra report on the announcement, and ended with the highest performance rating the World Bank awards a project of this kind.
The deal’s size is small relative to Catalyst V’s target. ISSF is committing $7 million to a fund that has been reported as targeting $300 million, per Waya Media. ISSF has framed the play as network access, not headline size: the partnership gives Jordanian startups a path into a global co-investment platform that has been operating since 2012.
Endeavor Catalyst runs on a repeating model. The fund, founded in 2012, raises a new vehicle every few years and invests in companies led by entrepreneurs who have cleared Endeavor’s global selection process. According to the Endeavor Catalyst 2025 annual report and portfolio data, the four prior funds together have raised $540 million-plus and made nearly 400 investments in 37 countries. The same report records 50 new investments in 2025 alone, with second-half capital deployment double that of the first half. Catalyst V will sit on top of that base when it closes.
Long-term partnerships in markets where we have a strong investment conviction are more important than the timing of market cycles.
Allen Taylor, the Managing Partner of Endeavor Catalyst, delivered the remark at the signing in Amman, adding that Endeavor first entered Jordan in 2009 as its first market in the MENA region. Taylor said the firm has stayed committed through several investment cycles since, reinforcing the view that sustained presence creates the strongest investment opportunities. ISSF has positioned the partnership as a continuation of that long-running relationship.
A Track Record the World Bank Called ‘Highly Satisfactory’
ISSF’s first phase ended in March 2026 with the World Bank’s highest possible rating. The bank’s Implementation Completion and Results Report (ICR) for Fund I, completed at the end of March 2026 and released in Amman in May, awarded ISSF a ‘Highly Satisfactory’ grade, the top category in the bank’s evaluation framework. ISSF says the rating reflects a project that exceeded most of its operational and investment targets, even against a backdrop of regional economic and geopolitical stress. The World Bank has called for the model to be replicated in other countries facing similar constraints.
Fund I was launched in 2018 with capital from the World Bank and a direct investment from the Central Bank of Jordan, and ran through 2025. The fund’s stated mission was to bridge the structural gap in financing for innovative small and medium enterprises at the founding and early-growth stages. The table below sets out what the first phase produced, by the numbers ISSF and the World Bank have published.
| Metric | ISSF Fund I (2018-2025) | ISSF Fund II (launched June 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Capital base | $98 million ($50M World Bank, $48M Central Bank of Jordan) | First commitment: $7 million to Endeavor Catalyst V |
| Startups supported | 160 (135 via VC funds, 25 directly) | To be determined |
| Private capital mobilized | $108.9 million | To be determined |
| Investment funds ISSF worked with | 22 outside funds entering Jordan | Endeavor Catalyst V (first commitment) |
| Direct jobs created | 2,600 | To be determined |
| World Bank project rating | Highly Satisfactory (highest category) | To be determined |
A Sector-Agnostic Fund Built for Emerging Markets
Endeavor Catalyst is the investment arm of Endeavor, the global network that selects and supports high-growth founders. The Jordan investment is structured as a fund-to-fund commitment: ISSF writes a check to Catalyst V and, in return, gains exposure to deals the fund makes alongside other lead investors.
Catalyst V is a sector-agnostic vehicle, according to ISSF and Endeavor, with no single industry focus and a portfolio tilt toward emerging markets. The Endeavor Catalyst 2025 annual report and portfolio data places the broader Catalyst platform at 680-plus Endeavor Entrepreneurs, 395-plus companies, and 37 countries, with $540 million-plus raised across four prior funds. Catalyst V is being raised against a size exceeding $300 million, per Waya Media. For Jordanian founders, the practical question is whether the new fund will deploy into local companies, and on what terms.
ISSF’s Fund II starts with the same playbook that made Fund I successful, in a different size class. Fund II is the institutional sequel to a result that drew global funds into Jordan for the first time. The first deal of that sequel is a single $7M check into a global fund, with ISSF saying the partnership will help Jordanian founders access growth-stage capital and international expansion markets.
The contrast is structural. Fund I’s mandate was to seed VC funds that did not exist in Jordan and to back startups directly. Fund II’s first deal plugs ISSF into a global fund and asks for capital to flow back.
Replit and the Other Jordanian Bets Endeavor Has Made
The most cited piece of evidence inside ISSF’s announcement is a portfolio company with no direct connection to Jordan’s domestic market. Endeavor Catalyst holds an investment in Replit, the AI and software development company co-founded by Jordanians Amjad Masad and Haya Odeh. According to Endeavor, Replit reached a market valuation of $9 billion. The figure anchors the case for Jordanian talent even if it does not anchor Jordanian GDP.
Endeavor’s local track record runs deeper than a single exit. The fund has previously invested in several Jordanian startups, per a Jordan Times report on the deal. The five names, as published in that report, follow.
These companies sit alongside Replit as a partial answer to a question ISSF has spent eight years trying to answer. The fund’s World Bank ICR concluded that financing demand in Jordan remains high, with a projected funding gap of between $234 million and $885 million for the period 2025 to 2030. The same report credited ISSF with multiplying its invested capital by 2.5 times through its venture capital fund portfolio, a result that drew funds into Jordan that would not otherwise have entered the market. ISSF’s Fund II is the institutional sequel to that result. The first move of that sequel is a check to a fund that has done it before.
- Tamatem Games
- Altibbi
- EON Dental
- Tarjama
- ZenHR
The Open Question on Capital Recycling
The mechanics of the deal are now public; the mechanics of capital recycling are not. Catalyst V is a co-investment fund, which means Endeavor writes checks into companies alongside other lead investors. ISSF has said it expects the partnership to contribute directly to the local startup sector, with Al-Muhtasib stating the investment will allow the fund to continue strengthening Jordan’s founder community and developing the venture capital market.
The Endeavor Catalyst fund and its investment focus sit in a public description, and the World Bank’s ISSF 2.0 project factsheet from the World Bank lays out the next phase. Waya Media reported that ISSF said Endeavor Catalyst Fund V will allocate part of its investments to support Jordanian ventures. That commitment sits in a press statement, not in the fund’s legal documents, and does not specify a target share of Catalyst V’s capital for Jordanian companies. The measure of the deal will be how much of the fund’s capital flows back to Jordanian founders over the fund’s life. Al-Muhtasib has framed the move as a way to bridge funding gaps that emerge as Jordanian startups try to scale abroad.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ISSF?
ISSF stands for Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund. It is a Jordanian fund of funds that invests in venture capital funds and writes direct checks to early-stage startups, launched in 2018 with $98 million in initial capital from the World Bank and the Central Bank of Jordan. The World Bank rated its first phase Highly Satisfactory, the highest category in its evaluation framework.
What is Endeavor Catalyst?
Endeavor Catalyst is the co-investment arm of Endeavor, a global network that selects and supports high-growth founders worldwide. Endeavor’s 2025 annual report puts Catalyst’s lifetime totals at $540 million-plus raised across four prior funds and nearly 400 investments across 37 countries. Catalyst V is being raised against a target exceeding $300 million, per Waya Media.
What has ISSF achieved under Fund I?
ISSF’s first phase, which ran from 2018 to 2025, supported 160 Jordanian startups (135 through partner VC funds and 25 with direct checks), attracted 22 outside investment funds to the Jordanian market, and mobilized $108.9 million in private capital with a leverage ratio of 2x to 3x per ISSF dollar. The World Bank rated the project Highly Satisfactory.
How large is the ISSF commitment to Catalyst V?
ISSF is committing $7 million to Catalyst V, which is being raised against a target exceeding $300 million, per Waya Media reporting. ISSF has not disclosed a target share of Catalyst V’s capital for Jordanian companies.
What does the deal mean for Jordanian founders?
ISSF framed the deal as a way to bridge funding gaps that emerge as Jordanian startups try to scale abroad, with the partnership expected to help founders access growth-stage capital and international expansion markets. Endeavor Catalyst has previously invested in Jordanian companies including Tamatem Games, Altibbi, EON Dental, Tarjama, and ZenHR, plus Replit, which has reached a $9 billion valuation. The open question is how much of Catalyst V’s capital actually flows back to Jordanian companies over the fund’s life.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Figures are accurate as of the publication date. Readers should consult a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.
