Amman: The Cooperative Development Fund is set to begin financing operations early next year after the government allocated JD3 million over three years to support its launch, Jordan Cooperative Corporation (JCC) Director General Abdul Fattah Shalabi said Tuesday.
According to Jordan News Agency, Shalabi stated that the fund is in the final stages of completing its administrative and organizational procedures. Established under the 2026 Administrative Organization Bylaw recently approved by the Cabinet, the fund will act as a financing arm to bolster cooperatives and support development and productive projects across the Kingdom.
Shalabi highlighted that the fund is designed to attract financial support from local and international donors through strategic partnerships, aligning with the Economic Modernization Vision, royal directives, and the public sector modernization roadmap. Financing programs will be based on local development priorities and the needs of the cooperative sector, with grants and loans awarded according to transparent criteria. These criteria include project feasibility, management and repayment capacity, and expected development impact, while funded projects will remain subject to oversight under the Cooperatives Law No. 13 of 2025.
The corporation aims to ensure equitable distribution of funding among governorates based on development needs, the number of cooperatives, and available investment opportunities. Technical assistance and follow-up will be provided to enhance the sustainability of funded projects. Shalabi also mentioned that regulations governing the fund's capital management and banking operations are being finalized to ensure transparency, accountability, and sound governance, in line with approved legislation and international best practices.
Furthermore, Shalabi announced that the Cooperative Development Institute, whose headquarters has been completed at the corporation's premises, is expected to begin operations once the remaining administrative preparations are finalized. The institute will offer internationally accredited training programs, prepare feasibility studies, conduct research and statistical analysis, automate the corporation's services, and establish a national database for the cooperative sector to support policymaking and sector development.
The corporation has partnered with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to deliver internationally accredited training programs tailored to the Jordanian context. These programs include "Think and Start Cooperatively," "Think.COOP and Start.COOP," and the Agricultural Cooperative Management program. Recently, 24 trainers from the corporation and partner institutions completed training under the "Think and Start Cooperatively" program. All training programs are offered free of charge, with their impact to be evaluated through field applications and performance indicators.
The Cabinet-approved bylaw also established the Cooperative Development Institute to enhance the capacities of cooperatives, their members, and JCC staff through ILO-accredited training programs, while supporting the preparation of feasibility studies and sector statistics.