In recent years, Jordan has seen a strong increase of its unemployment rate to 22,3% in 2023. At the same time, self-employment is underdeveloped in Jordan with only 9,1% of Jordanian adults involved in entrepreneurial activity, and cannot fulfil the employment potential that it does in other countries. Particularly in the more rural governorates outside of Jordan’s capital Amman, structures to support entrepreneurial ecosystems are sorely lacking.

The project Entrepreneurship promotion in selected Governorates in Jordan, awarded to ICON Institute in cooperation with PEM Consult, aims to enable Entrepreneurs to make greater use of regional market and business potential in the Governorate of Aqaba, with later expansion to the Governorates of Karak, Mafraq and Jerash.

At its core, the project aims to involve the private sector in the promotion of market-based business ideas to develop products, services and value chain approaches that have been lacking in the governorates so far and have scaling and employment potential.

To this end, the project provides advisory support in the preparation and implementation of design thinking workshops in which business ideas are identified, evaluated and aligned to market needs in working groups of established companies and start-ups. In particular, new ideas for business start-ups as well as for the diversification of existing entrepreneurs are developed and implemented. The focus lies on ideas in the area of green business or those that use digital technologies or business models, as well as on women-led or women-owned start-ups.

The project is part of GIZ’s Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Economic Development and Employment in Jordan (E4DE) project with the overall objective to stimulate sustainable and inclusive employment through entrepreneurship and private sector development.