Consultancies tapped by German state agency for development project in Jordan

International consultancy firm Ecorys and local player Manafeth have been tapped by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to support Jordan’s Economic Modernisation Vision, which is part of the Innovation in Private Sector Development (I-PSD) project.

The project aims to strengthen Jordan’s private sector and foster more sustainable economic growth. Its key objectives include expanding exports, accelerating industrial growth, and supporting the adoption of home-grown digital transformation and data-driven solutions across Jordanian organisations.

In addition to those goals, the programme also aims to make small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) more competitive and aims to boost women’s economic empowerment. A report from the International Monetary Fund found that despite high levels of education, participation in the labour market is low among youth and women.

Jordan’s economic challenges

Despite a series of shocks, including regional conflict and the Covid-19 pandemic, the Jordanian economy has remained impressively resilient and has kept up positive GDP growth in most years. While this resilience is welcome, growth has not been enough to generate sufficient job growth for Jordan’s young population or to prevent the government’s growing debt.

With a population of around 12 million, labour demand has remained low overall in Jordan following years of slow growth. Job opportunities in the public sector have been diminishing and among the jobs in the private sector, women are underrepresented.

Productivity growth has slumped across most sectors over the past decade. Recent economic growth has relied on adding more workers and capital rather than improving practices or innovation – a worrying trend that threatens competitiveness and signals low technology adoption.

GIZ’s role in Jordan

With an office in Amman, GIZ has been working in Jordan on behalf of the German federal government for more than 60 years. GIZ is a German government organisation that works to implement development policy around the world. Its policies focus on improving technical, social, and ecological aspects.

Some of the areas of development that GIZ has focused on in Jordan include energy requirements for a growing population, defending against climate change risks, and addressing unemployment, especially among young people and women.

“We’re glad to be part of the I-PSD project – an important step forward as we work with our partners to strengthen innovation, technology transfer, and sustainable economic growth in Jordan,” said GIZ.

The consulting partners

Manafeth Middle East Consulting & Technology is a boutique, Amman-based advisory firm that supports SMEs and startups in achieving their visions. Beyond business strategy, the firm offers certified cloud technology and traceability solutions – including Master Data Management and GS1-compliant data exchange – to help enterprises optimise supply chains and meet market standards.

Ecorys is an international economics and research firm with offices in Europe, Africa and Asia. The group has an extensive track record of supporting development and reform projects around the world. Those include an EU-funded programme to reform the justice system in Armenia, a comprehensive evaluation of EU programmes for rural development in Azerbaijan, and more recently, an evaluation of two initiatives in Serbia.

“We are excited to work with our partners and stakeholders across Jordan to support innovation, job creation, and a more competitive business environment,” stated Ecorys on its role in the I-PSD project.