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Ammon News - Blumont, a global non-profit development-centered organization, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have recently signed an agreement to promote sustainable economic growth of home-based businesses led by youth and women in Madaba, south of Amman.

In this pilot project, funded through the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), Blumont will support establishing a self-sustaining business hub in the local community in Madaba by partnering with ‘Kawon’, a local book store and cafe.

The business hub will support local home-based businesses to access skills development opportunities, markets to sell their products and services, and micro-finance facilities to support the growth of their businesses.

Under this agreement, Blumont will produce a comprehensive case study that will highlight the findings of the pilot project and share it with the wider development cooperation partners and members of the Livelihoods Working Group as a guiding document for setting up this model.

Caroline Haddad, Blumont Jordan Country Director, expressed pride in this partnership and said: "Home- based businesses are the backbone of the Jordanian economy as they contribute to employment, entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods. We thank the EBRD for this contribution that will create further job opportunities, advances the development process, and enhances financial inclusion in underserved communities."

Philip ter Woort EBRD Director, Regional Head of Eastern Mediterranean Region added: "We are very happy with this partnership with Blumont and look forward to creating a successful and sustainable model that can be duplicated in other parts of Jordan and possibly other countries."

Rami Samain Regional Inclusion Specialist from EBRD said: "the Bank’s unique inclusive business model focuses on improving employability of young men and women through reducing the skills mismatch gap and providing access to quality skills development programs. This project will provide beneficiaries with market-relevant skills and enable them to engage in the economic cycle through self-employment utilizing the regulatory framework of home-based business licensing. In this context, Kawon – as the hub for the entire exercise, will ensure sustainability of the model."

Blumont will build the capacity of Kawon staff to provide coaching and skills development support for local home-based businesses. Kawon will then provide home based businesses' with training sessions covering a number of areas, including management, marketing, finance, and business skills to facilitate their entry into the formal economy and link them to new markets.

Blumont is a global organization working in concert with local communities to design and implement innovative approaches to build infrastructure, deliver lifesaving humanitarian assistance, and foster opportunities for long- term stability and economic development.

Since establishing an Amman office since 2003, Blumont has worked to support refugees and displaced persons, provide health services, and improve community resources for vulnerable Jordanians.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is a multilateral bank that promotes the development of the private sector and entrepreneurial initiative in 37 economies across three continents.

The Bank is owned by 69 countries as well as the EU and EIB. EBRD investments are aimed at making the economies in its regions competitive, inclusive, well-governed, green, resilient, and integrated. Since it started investing in Jordan in 2012, the EBRD has provided more than EUR 1.5 billion in financing for 59 projects in the country.