Jordan

CIPE works with business associations in Jordan by building capacity to organize, represent their members, advocate for policies that improve the business-enabling environment and provide other valuable services to underserved micro- and small enterprises (MSEs).

Through a long-term partnership with the Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA), successful advocacy programs reduced the capital threshold requirement for new business registration to a nominal fee and secured new rights for women entrepreneurs to obtain licenses for home-based businesses. YEA developed and championed a national Small and Medium Business Agenda, which informed the Jordanian Enterprise Development Corporation’s National SME Growth and Development Strategy and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation’s “Jordan Vision 2025” national economic development strategy.

CIPE partnered with the think tank Al Quds Center for Political Studies to expand the role of business associations in policy decision-making processes through public-private dialogue. This collaboration contributed to the development of a Federation of Employers Unions, an informal coalition of associations pursuing shared reform priorities and one of the only such federations in the region.

Made possible by a grant from FHI360 under the USAID Jordan Local Enterprise Support (LENS) Project, CIPE provides targeted training and technical assistance to a dozen associations in order to enhance service delivery that supports the growth potential of MSEs in the Jordanian economy. Partner associations are growing their membership rolls and developing a range of valuable services, including networking opportunities, professional training and education, and market access initiatives.