Can Jordan bridge the gap between Silicon Valley and the MENA region? The Jordanian phone company Umniah doesn’t see why not, and has teamed up with the Californian accelerator Plug and Play in order to make it happen.

The partnership announced the Umniah-Plug and Play Tech Accelerator Program, aimed at bringing investment and networking opportunities to tech start ups in Jordan. Having already invested in over 300 companies globally, Plug and Play has released a multi-stage application process for interested companies that have been in business for at least one year. If selected, these start ups would win a three-month trip to Silicon Valley that, according to Umniah CEO Ihab Hinnawi, “will help them get access to mentorship, get access to advice, and most importantly, get access to investors.”

The Plug and Play program has had a history of success, with previous investments including big names such as Drop Box Inc., PayPal and the dating site Zoosk. Recently, the tech-focused investment company announced a new accelerator exclusively for Bitcoin-related businesses.

Although notable for its international reputation, Plug and Play is hardly the first accelerator to make its way to the MENA region. Chatter about accelerators in the Arab World has steadily risen for a number of years as local investment companies Oasis500 (based in Jordan) and Flat6labs (Cairo) set their gaze upon regional expansion.

In exchange for a 10% share of the business, the accelerator will invest a pre-seed minimum of $25,000 in each start-up selected. After an initial trial period, and if the product represents a real consumer demand, the entrepreneurs will fly to Silicon Valley for a four-day workshop on all things entrepreneurial, followed by personal mentoring and the opportunity to court potential investors.

The original plan was to invest in five companies per year – but thanks to the involvement of USAID, that number has been bumped up to 15. USAID’s enthusiastic director, Paul Bruning, touted the project as “a concrete example of the U.S. government’s initiative to expand entrepreneurialism in the MENA region. Local emerging technology businesses can enter a competition that will give them the chance to fly to Silicon Valley to obtain valuable knowledge.”

This knowledge includes licensing, legal and tax workshops, how to pitch to potential investors and leveraging the all-important “network” that Silicon Valley is famous for. So far, more than nine companies have undergone this training, and the program accepts new applicants on a quarterly basis.

We wait and see if Jordanian tech companies can compete with Plug and Play’s success stories in Europe, Asia and South America. In the meantime, however, the accelerator is off to a good start, with King Abdullah visiting Silicon Valley for the agreement’s signing:

Interested Jordanian start-ups can find the application at www.umniah.com/PlugandPlayJordan, as well as more information about the program’s schedule and eligibility requirements.