Business Solutions Provider for the Banking Industry at iPark in Jordan

Jordan Innovation Centre- iPark is a Jordanian business incubator specialized in Information and Communications Technology (ICT). It was established in 2003 by the Higher Council of Science and Technology (HCST) as a non-profit organization. The objectives of iPark is to support  Jordanian entrepreneurs and start-ups in the Information and Communications technology (ICT) sectors and to increase their odds of success, establish, and grow their businesses in a supportive and innovative environment. For further information about iPark, please see their incubator profile in the infoDev Global Network of Business Incubators.

This interview is conducted with Mr. Samer Al-Jabari, the co-founder of FOCUS Solutions, a Jordanian Business Solutions Provider for the banking industry in the region.

Is this the first company that you have started, and what  drove you towards it?

Yes it is. My partner  Rami Quttaineh and myself created Focus Solutions. It was not an easy decision for us to start the company,  at that time, we were just graduated from the university, we had no experience,  we had no cash money, but we had the idea in addition to the entrepreneurship spirit.  Therefore, we decided to start our business from our homes using our personal computers.

How did you finance your start-up operations and how long did it take for the company to become self-sustainable?
We started working together in 2002 and in the beginning it was really hard since we were fresh college graduates. We had only 60 JD which is equal to less than a hundred US Dollars. We had many things to do and we had to think carefully, so we decided to print our business cards and letter head to give an image of businessmen. It took us two and a half years to become self-sustainable.

What are your major products and services and how are they unique? What is your competition?
FOCUS Solutions is a Jordanian Business Solutions Provider, which originally started as a Software Development Company and then expanded to provide value-added business solutions to financial institutions such as law firms, consulting companies and banking sector. Three of our most successful product examples are Focus Power Legal for the legal departments of banks and large companies, Focus Power Collection for the collection departments of banks and credit card companies, and Focus Power Remedial for credit departments of banks.

Now Focus solutions products are working in 10 banks in Jordan and the region, such as Citi Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, ABC group, Arab Bank and Jordan Bank. Our staff increased to seven, our customers list contains more than 20 enterprises, and we have 5 solutions for banking and financial industry.

How did you first launch the product?
In fact, we didn’t know how to launch our product, we had no ideas. Fortunately, we took the initiative and contacted the Young Entrepreneurs Association. With their help and support we got the first client.

Later on, we conduct market research, and found that we are able to add new products to the banking industry. We focused our solutions on legal departments in banks, and succeeded in introducing application such as Focus Power Remedial and Collections which we sold to two local banks.

How do you measure the success of the company?
I should mention that all work we conducted at that time was from our homes. I call it the first phase of our entrepreneurship journey. I think to measure the success of the company is by surviving in the tough market through the persistence of achieving and continuing to develop our performance. It easy to establish a company but it is hard to make it survive.

Who are your clients and how many do you have? How are you focusing on expanding your user community?
My clients are in the banking industry. We have more than 10 banks as our clients in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan. We found that the tool for expanding and accessing new markets is the word of mouth of satisfied customers.

Are you planning to patent your product and do you see any obstacles in doing so?
We do not have patents but we have copy rights and we did not face any obstacles in doing so.

What  was  the biggest challenge in starting an innovative business in your country and how did you overcome that?
I think the biggest problem in starting a business in my country is the registration process and the legal frame work, as well as the taxation system. We overcame this by asking experts and getting some information from the Young Entrepreneurs Association.

Who are  the shareholders in your company?
Until now the shareholders are Rami and I with our families.

How have you benefited from business incubation?
It was like being a pilot who wants to land a plane on an unlit runway. You know where you want to go, but you don’t know how to get there. So we had to look for an incubator to land safely. The second Phase of our entrepreneurship journey started in June 2004 by joining the business incubator, the JIC- iPARK. We stayed their for two years. We developed business and strategic plans, we registered a limited liability company, and we raised Focus Solution staff to five by hiring three employees. This phase ended in 2006 by graduating from the incubator and renting our new office.

Do you  have some specific lessons that you know now and wish you would have known when you started your business, and which you would like to share with fellow entrepreneurs?
I think in the beginning I was lacking knowledge about  financial management. I would be in a better shape if I knew it before.

How do you plan to internationalize your product and if so, how?
We already started in different countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Sudan, UAE, and we have plans to build a joint venture, and to expand our work in countries like Qatar and Kuwait.   

Do you feel that you had  the necessary advisory and support network when you started your company?
Yes I got good advice from the YEA and other friends and they helped me a lot in marketing our services and products.

What is your message to funders/supporters and what is your message to the users of your product?
I would like to thank all the people who supported us - we really appreciate their support - and we would also like to thank our clients and promise them that we will to continue to develop our products and keep creating new solutions.     

Quick Facts about FOCUS Solutions