Evaluation of the Refugee Livelihoods Development Impact Bond in Jordan

The main objectives of this four-year DIB are: (1) to sustainably improve program participants’ abilities to meet basic needs; their economic well-being, self-reliance, and resilience; and women’s confidence, bargaining power, and agency; and (2) to encourage international development actors to devote more resources to long-term livelihoods programs in refugee contexts and demonstrate the potential of innovative funding mechanisms to achieve this.

“We see a great need to develop and support initiatives that create business development and jobs in local communities that are affected by the refugee situation in the Middle East. This is a groundbreaking collaboration that involves both public and private capital." 

Bård Vegar Solhjell, Director of Norad

The DIB program includes a core training in life and business skills, technical and vocational skills training, cash grants to help participants establish microenterprises, and additional business-related support for grantees. The program will be implemented by the Near East Foundation UK in collaboration with local community-based organizations. The DIB investors (the United States International Development Finance Corporation and Ferd) are providing Near East Foundation with the upfront financing for the program. Under the DIB mechanism, the funders (IKEA Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, and Norad) will pay the investors at the end of the program, with the final payment amount depending on the results achieved, which Mathematica will measure. Near East Foundation anticipates serving 5,040 refugees and vulnerable Jordanians, of which three-quarters are expected to be women.