On the other hand, the growth within the entrepreneurship eco-system that Jordan has been witnessing over the past decade is unprecedented. The number of registered business support organizations has almost tripled over the course of 2017-2021. This growth has been heavily supported by international development agencies which, on one hand, have provided additional resources and financing options, but yet; may have led to inconsistent patterns of business support that may and may not respond well to the national priorities.

The financial industry is expected to play an instrumental role in financing the transition to a more resilient, inclusive and green economy. Financial institutions and markets would support the ongoing global structural transformation towards sustainable development by efficiently re-directing public and private resources towards more socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable activities (UNE 2017).

The SwitchMed programme promotes the creation of a National Impact Investing Task Force with the aim of stimulating the local discussion between potential investors, private and public finance institutions, donors and other relevant stakeholders about the needs and opportunities to advocate for and promote the adoption of sustainable finance solutions on benefit of a more resilient business ecosystem.

At this purpose, the National Impact Task Force will collectively help define a vision on how financial institutions could enable the transition and contribute to the sustainable development of the local and regional economy. The national Task force will also seek to identify focus areas for concrete next steps and leveraging experiences from other countries.

OBJECTIVES

This National Task Force presents a valuable opportunity to strengthen the financial system’s response to managing risks and opportunities, empower the sustainable growth of the country. In particular, it will:
– Explore potential enhancements to the role of the financial institutions to manage risks and to unlock capital for green and low-carbon investments at local and regional level.
– Explore a mechanism for dialogue and/or partnership among relevant stakeholders’ (i.e. financial institutions, service providers and international donors) to provide guidance and support to the financial providers by expanding engagement in sustainable finance.

Desired outcomes

It is anticipated that the Task Force meetings will result in:
– Enhancing local organizational awareness regarding impact investment and green entrepreneurship
– Recommending focus action areas for mainstreaming green entrepreneurship and impact investment in Jordan
– Soft agreement to further collaboration with Switchmed Programme to support local Switchers

First “National Impact Investment Task Force” meeting will take virtually next Tuesday (February 15th) from 5:30 – 7:00 pm (Amman local time). 
Second meeting will take virtually next February 20, 2022 (tbc)
Final meeting will take virtually February 22, 2022 (tbc)