Author(s) :

Leyth Sharaf.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

Entrepreneurship is often framed as a pathway to economic advancement, yet in Jordan access to its benefits is unevenly distributed. This study explores peer-reviewed research, national surveys, and development reports to examine how geography, gender norms, social networks, and digital infrastructure shape entrepreneurial opportunities across Jordan’s governorates. Using perspectives from capital theory, embeddedness, weak ties, structural holes, and intersectionality, the analysis identifies four structural inequalities in Jordan’s entrepreneurial landscape. These include: (i) urban capital concentration, with Amman hosting most entrepreneurial finance and support structures; (ii) gendered exclusion, as women’s labour force participation is below 14% and rural women’s enterprises are typically informal and home-based; (iii) network constraints, where kinship and tribal ties provide early legitimacy but restrict brokerage opportunities and external market access; and (iv) digital inequality, with rural ventures disproportionately reliant on cash-only transactions due to weaker connectivity and low e-payment uptake. These dynamics show that entrepreneurship in Jordan is not a neutral engine of inclusion but is embedded in hierarchical spatial, social, and gendered structures. The paper argues for decentralised entrepreneurial support organisations, gender-responsive finance, strengthened digital infrastructure and skills, and policies that leverage informal networks while enabling entrepreneurs to extend beyond them to avoid reproducing inequality.