Germany - Financial consultancy services - Supporting the Financial Institutions Green Transition

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) constitute the overwhelming majority of economic activity in Jordan. MSMEs account for over 99% of all enterprises, employ around 60% of the formal private-sector workforce, and contribute 40% of Jordan Gross Domestic Product (GDP), making them crucial for economic growth, resilience, and job creation. Despite this importance, MSMEs still face obstacles in accessing appropriate and diversified financial products. Access to formal credit remains limited for many MSMEs. According to the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) 2023-2028, only 28.3% of formal MSMEs had a loan or line of credit from a financial institution, highlighting a significant financing gap for smaller firms in Jordan. Financial exclusion is especially pronounced for underserved segments such as informal and women-led enterprises, which often face higher collateral requirements, limited credit histories, and lower formal borrowing rates. Financial inclusion, defined as access to and use of appropriate, affordable, and sustainable financial products and services, remains a priority in Jordan. The CBJ is pursuing ambitious targets to increase overall financial inclusion, reduce gender gaps, and enhance MSME access to finance, including through digital channels and tailored products. The NFIS aims, for example, to increase MSMEs access to formal lending at an average annual rate of 4% for four years. In a similar vein, Jordan"s Green Finance Strategy 2023-2028 aims to mobilize green investments and position the financial sector as a regional leader in sustainable finance. The strategy highlights that a 92.5% of the Jordan National Determined Contribution (NDC) target cost is to be financed by international support and mobilized private capital. As Jordan advances its Green Finance Strategy, a central priority was establishing clear and credible standards for what qualifies as "green" across the financial system. The Jordan National Green Taxonomy, published in February 2026, provides this clarity by offering a common language for the financial system to classify sustainable economic activities in a transparent and consistent way. By anchoring investment decisions to science-based criteria, the taxonomy helps ensure that future capital flows genuinely support Jordan"s low-carbon, climate-resilient transition. Against this backdrop, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GIZ-implemented project, Innovative Approaches for the Financial Inclusion of MSMEs in Jordan (I-FIN), takes a holistic, market-driven approach to strengthening inclusive green finance in the country. The project operates across the policy, institutional, and market levels, helping to improve the broader enabling environment, upgrade the technical and operational capacities of financial service providers, and ensure that enterprises can confidently access and benefit from green finance solutions. The overall objective of the project is to ensure that MSMEs in Jordan benefit from a more inclusive financial system that enables inclusive access to green finance and supports environmentally sustainable and resilient business growth, also with a focus on women-led enterprises. The assignment is structured around four interrelated work packages, 5 key experts, complemented by two pools of experts. Work Package 1: Planning and Inception: aims to review, research, and analyse all relevant information to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the assignment and to refine the implementation approach. Work Package 2: Capacity Development and Technical Assistance for Inclusive Green Credit Guarantees and Risk-Sharing Mechanisms: strengthens the staff and institutional capacities of the Jordan Loan Guarantee Corporation (JLGC) in the area of MSMEs inclusive green finance, through tailored staff capacity development and institutional advisory services across seven operational areas: product development and/or adaptation, risk documentation and/or management, strategy development, monitoring, reporting, setting up of an operational unit, and cooperation with Fintechs. Work Package 3: Capacity Development and Technical Assistance for Financial Services Providers: strengthens the institutional capacities of 5 financial services providers across the same seven operational areas and builds the capacities of at least 120 employees (50 of which are women) in the financial service sector. This work package may target public and private financial services providers, while Activity 3.7 targets financial sector associations, training providers, and academic institutions. The Contractor is expected to ensure strong coordination and alignment with a parallel complementary intervention delivering sector-level standardized training, including regular information exchange, harmonization of approaches, and avoidance of duplication. Work Package 4: Advancing Financial Service Providers' Capacity to Access and Mobilize International Climate Finance: supports financial services providers in submitting at least 3 project outlines (1 of which related to the water sector) for mobilising international climate finance in relation to MSMEs to relevant national actors, in close coordination with the CBJ, Ministry of Environment, and industry associations. All support under this assignment shall be aligned with international best practices and relevant national frameworks, including, but not limited to, the Jordan National Green Taxonomy, ensuring consistency with evolving regulatory and policy developments in the green finance landscape.