The world is still suffering from the negative and dangerous impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This epidemic posed a threat to all of humanity, as it disrupted various aspects of life, changed the course of life for billions of people, and exhausted developed and poor countries alike. It left a lot of damage in the health and education systems, and the global economy became reeling due to the negative impacts of it. The Global Economic Prospects Report (2020) confirmed that the pandemic has caused an unprecedented global crisis, mainly a global health crisis and huge human losses.
Its results led to the most severe recession the world has seen since World War II. Moreover, the report predicted a severe contraction of the global economy as well as the average per capita income in 2020, pushing millions of people into extreme poverty. The Global Poverty Monitoring Technical Note 13 Report (2020) estimated that the pandemic led to the fall of at least 88 million people into extreme poverty in 2020, and it is expected that the largest segment of the "new poor" is in South Asia, directly followed by Africa. Since its appearance in late 2019 in China, the COVID-19 virus has caused millions of infections and deaths all over the world, and is still doing so in a steadily frightening way (Özdemir, 2020).
Jordan sought to prevent the epidemic from reaching its territory, and the Jordanian government has taken several proactive measures since declaring its spread as a global pandemic. The first confirmed case of the virus was recorded inside Jordan on March 2, 2020. About a week later, new infections were recorded, most of them were Jordanians who returned from abroad, which prompted the government to announce the suspension of flights, and the closure of its land, sea and airports. On March 17, 2020, the number of confirmed cases of the disease was 40, and the cumulative number of confirmed cases reached 1,067253 on 3 January 2022. This prompted the Jordanian government to take a set of additional precautionary measures, the most prominent of which was the activation of the Defense Law issued in 1992, according to which all public and private institutions and organizations were closed down, except for the vital sectors such as the health sector, and citizens were prevented from leaving homes except in cases of emergency. The government also banned gatherings of more than 10 people. Movement between provinces was prohibited; the printing of newspapers was stopped, and the work of mass transportation and transportation was suspended, malls and commercial centers were closed, and only supply centers, pharmacies, bakeries, food, medicine, water, fuel and electricity were allowed to open. The Jordanian government also established quarantine camps for those coming from abroad.
The report of the Jordan Economic Monitor, issued in Spring 2020 entitled “Weathering the Storm” indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic is burdening the Jordanian economy, which was suffering from a slowdown in growth and high unemployment rates among youth and women before the pandemic. It is expected that the Jordanian economy will shrink by 3.5% in 2020, which will have a negative impact on a number of different sectors, especially trade, remittances, tourism and the service sector. This will have a strong impact on the life and livelihood of the Jordanian citizens. Among the important categories of Jordanian society, which the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a negative impact on them, are the creative and talented, owners of creative and entrepreneurial projects, incubated in business incubators and centers. In light of the prevailing situation all over the world, these creators, innovators, and owners of small and medium businesses are also facing unprecedented challenges. The COVID-19 consequences and impacts will likely be tangible for years to come where many countries of the world in general have resorted to support them and mitigate the effects of the pandemic on them, due to the great importance that these creators and innovators contribute to providing pioneering and innovative solutions and ideas to mitigate the effects of this epidemic and in all sectors, especially the health, educational and economic sectors.
Entrepreneurial small projects contribute substantially in accelerating comprehensive development processes, the effects of which are reflected in the development and prosperity of societies (Thobekani et al. 2016). The main purpose of business incubators is to develop the creators' essential practical experience including building business plan, feasibility analysis, funding, and prototyping, which are necessary for the project success and sustainability. This is guaranteed by providing all kinds of financial, administrative and marketing support and sponsoring new projects, access to a community support network, especially in the start-up and growth stages (Ramar et al. 2020). Thus, the success of small and pilot projects contributes mainly to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of United Nations, especially SFGs 1, 2, 8, 9, and 11.
The present study sought to find out the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incubated creative and entrepreneurial projects in Jordan. The study is seeking to answer the following questions and assumptions:
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What is the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic impacts on incubated creative and entrepreneurial projects in Jordan?
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What are the most important dimensions of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incubated creative and entrepreneurial projects in Jordan?
At what stage of the COVID-19 pandemic was the greatest impact on creative and entrepreneurial projects in Jordan?
To find out the period in which were the most significant impacts of the pandemic, the study period was divided into four stages:
1) 17-3-2020 to 17-6-2020
This period represents the beginning of the comprehensive lockdown in Jordan
2) 17-6-2020 to 17-9-2020
The comprehensive lockdown continued in this period. However, a better understanding of the pandemic has been reached.
3) 17-9-2020- to 17-12-2020
In this period, human activities began to be practiced under very strict conditions and regulations.
4) 17-12-2020 to 17-3-2021
In the period, the strict conditions and regulations have been reduced and mitigated.
- Is there a statistically significant relationship between the dimensions of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incubated creative and entrepreneurial projects according to the gender and Academic qualification?
By reviewing the newly published theoretical literature, we found a set of studies that intersect to some extent with the objective and scope of this study; the most important of which are:
Kuckertz et al. (2020) carried out a study aiming at finding out the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has created for entrepreneurs, and how did the entrepreneurs deal with the effects of the crisis in Germany. Moreover, the study explored the measures they have taken to protect their projects. A study conducted by Meahjohn and Persad (2020) sought to shed light on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on entrepreneurship, worldwide, due to the preventive measures taken by governments to limit the transmission of the virus. Ratten (2020) performed a study to explore the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on entrepreneurship education. The study indicated that the pandemic had left a crisis and difficulty in teaching entrepreneurship.
The present study was conducted in all business incubators and centers located in the Northern Province of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The following is a brief description of these business incubators and centers covered in this study:
Center of Excellence for Innovative Projects, Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST)
The Center of Excellence for Innovative Projects was established at the Jordan University of Science and Technology to provide the appropriate, technical environment to support and sponsor innovators from both the university and local community. The center has a range of facilities and services to support and sponsor innovative people; develop their skills and innovativeness, starting from creating the initial product, passing through the service model, and finally, the establishment and the commercial launch of small businesses. More details about the center can be found by accessing the webpage of the center (https://www.just.edu.jo/centers/ceip/Pages/default.aspx).
BASSMATI
Bassmati Community for Climate and WASH is a creative initiative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The initiative is hosted by the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) in Irbid, and the Hashemite University (HU) in Zarqa. It was established in response to the major challenges facing Jordan in the fields of water, sanitation, hygiene and climate change. The incubator promotes creative and technological ideas based on knowledge and experiences from researchers, students and specialists, who in turn look for those who invest in, support and develop their ideas in an unconventional way and appreciate the value that those ideas provide to communities at risk. Bassmati Community provides an integrated, inclusive and supportive environment for entrepreneurs. More details about the incubator can be found at: https://bassmati-jo.org.
The Leading Business Accelerator and Seed Investor in the North of Jordan (Shamal Start)
Shamal Start is a business accelerator, established by Luminus Education Group and funded by the European Union. It was launched in 2016 to provide creators, innovators and entrepreneurs in Jordan (with focus on the northern regions) with a comprehensive ecosystem that facilitates transforming progressive ideas into actual projects that can best serve the local communities. More details about Shamal Start can be found at: https://www.shamalstart.com.
TTi business incubators in Irbid (02incubator)
The 02incubator is a non-profit Jordanian organization, founded in 2010 with the mission of spreading entrepreneurship and innovation culture among youth and women living in less fortunate communities. More than 6000 direct beneficiaries have been served through +50 projects implemented all over Jordan, including awareness, training-camps, mentoring, consultation, matchmaking and early-stage incubation. More information about 02incubator can be found at: https://tti-jo.org.