AMMAN, JORDAN / MENA Newswire / – The World Bank approved a US$700 million loan for Jordan to support private investment, job creation and economic reforms. The financing falls under the Jordan Growth and Competitiveness Development Policy Financing II program. It supports steps linked to the country’s Economic Modernization Vision and focuses on business conditions, access to finance, digital services, green finance and energy sector reforms.
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors cleared the loan after Jordan recorded 2.8 percent real GDP growth in 2025. The country also kept a sovereign credit rating upgrade first secured in 2024, its first in more than two decades. The lender said the funding aims to help Jordan turn macroeconomic stability into stronger private sector activity and more jobs.
The program lists the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as the borrower. The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation serves as the implementing agency. The operation carries the project number P509855 and forms the second part of a planned three-part development policy financing series. Its stated development objective is to improve the business environment and deepen access to finance for private sector-led growth.
Reforms target business access
The first reform pillar focuses on the business climate. It covers streamlined sector licensing, updated rules for electronic and cross-border transactions, and wider social protection for flexible and part-time workers. The plan also supports private investment in electricity transmission, generation and storage. These measures target areas that affect business costs, formal work and investment entry in Jordan.
The second pillar addresses finance for firms and entrepreneurs. It covers capital market upgrades, crowdfunding rules, cash-flow-based lending and business accounts for unbanked micro-entrepreneurs. The program also backs green finance through Jordan’s National Green Taxonomy. It includes insurance sector reforms and the shift to fully digital outgoing government payments, which forms part of Jordan’s broader digital public service agenda.
Targets cover jobs and finance
Program documents set 2028 result targets across licensing, investment, finance and labor indicators. They include 20 newly reformed priority sector licenses and US$150 million in private capital enabled through renewable generation, transmission projects and mining concessions. The targets also include raising female labor force participation from 15.2 percent to 17 percent and increasing active private sector insured contributors.
The financing also sets targets for financial inclusion and digital systems. These include 50,000 active Light Business Accounts, with 15,000 held by women or women-owned businesses. Other indicators cover digital government payments, credit reports through digital channels, green taxonomy-aligned bank lending, insurance penetration and reserves under the Insurance Policyholders Protection Scheme. Jordan’s reform program now moves through the approved financing framework.
