In response to the changing dynamics of the Jordanian economy and the growing need for services that help alleviate problems of poverty and unemployment, in the early 1990s JOHUD launched an Enterprise Development Programme which today operates several credit schemes.

In 1996, The Small Business Development Centre was established by JOHUD in cooperation with Oxfam- Quebec (OCSD) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to contribute to national efforts aiming at enhancing sustainable economic and social development by providing financial and non-financial services for small and micro enterprises.

The centre’s main objective is to promote economic empowerment through self-employment.

The SBDC provision of non-financial support to entrepreneurs, with a particular emphasis on women, is offered in the form of training, capacity building and advisory services. Where appropriate, the SBDC provides access to credit through its loan operation.

Since its inception the SBDC has provided more than 4,500 loans totalling around JD8 million. Around sixty per cent of its beneficiaries are women. In addition to this, the centre has trained and consulted around 3,000 clients on how to start a business, book keeping, household budgeting, marketing, financial management, time management and business expansion.