Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Duration: 2013-2019
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Country: Jordan
Solutions: Economic Growth
The Jordan Competitiveness Program (JCP) operated for nearly six years to boost the competitiveness of the Jordanian economy by working with policymakers, business associations, and the private sector to: 1) draft and advocate for business-enabling legislation and regulation; 2) support firms and intermediaries in the private sector to stimulate exports and attract foreign direct investment (FDI); and 3) ensure that these investments result in employment opportunities for Jordanians and, where appropriate, other residents of the Kingdom.
From its impact on key sectors of the economy to its work strengthening Jordan’s business-enabling policy environment, JCP worked at all levels of the economy, training hundreds of young professionals, building the capacity of local firms, strengthening sector associations, and assisting in the enactment of dozens of forward-thinking laws and regulations that made possible tens of millions of dollars in new investment and exports while creating thousands of jobs. All told, JCP had an outsized impact on Jordan’s economy—stimulating about $70 million in new Jordanian exports, facilitating more than $100 million in investment opportunities, contributing to the creation of nearly 1,000 jobs, and assisting in securing new or better work opportunities for nearly 30,000 individuals.
In 2016, DAI was additionally hired to lead the Project Management Unit of the Jordan Compact, which helped create jobs for Jordanians and Syrians by developing exports to the European Union. This Compact between countries supported Jordan to mitigate the impact of hosting more than 700,000 registered Syrian refugees. The Compact aimed to deliver a measure of stability by leveraging donor and technical assistance to support the Jordanian private sector in industries such as garment manufacturing, plastics, and agriculture.
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