Report urges enterprises to put Jordan on map of impact investors

AMMAN — Sharing the impact journey of funds and businesses in Jordan, a report titled “Seeds of Impact” seeks to raise the business case of investing in and aligning business practices with sustainable development goals (SDGs). 

“Seeds of Impact showcase how funds and some of the businesses they invest in are starting to embark on ‘the impact journey’ in Jordan,” the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) told The Jordan Times on Monday.

UNDP added that it is keen to inspire other enterprises to join the “impact journey”, as well as put Jordan on the map of impact investors.

The report is based on interviews conducted over the past five months, giving fund managers, ecosystem players and business leaders the opportunity to highlight how they see impact and how they have measured their contributions.

Future editions provide more in-depth profiles, analysis and increase the coverage of funds, enterprises and ecosystem players, thereby “creating a platform for partners to join and for an impact economy to emerge”, the report said.

The project, a joint initiative by UNDP and Beyond Capital, is the first report in a series, the first of its kind in Jordan.

“Impact and sustainable investment is a growing trend globally,” UNDP said, noting that currently the MENA region only attracts 2 per cent of global impact investment.

Additionally, the report depicted how funds and businesses in Jordan started their journey of embracing impact through reviewing case studies of funds and companies that drive social and environmental change while at the same time generating profit, according to the UN website.

“Jordan is one of the first SDG Impact pilot countries. The initiative seeks to provide concrete guidance on how to translate intent to action,” UNDP Resident Representative in Jordan Randa Aboul-Hosn said in a statement made available to The Jordan Times.

This report provided an initial understanding of definitions of impact, how impact is described in the Jordanian context and an overview of how funds and businesses are — or are not — measuring their impact, she pointed out.

Jordan has long been a pioneer in innovation and entrepreneurship, and Jordanian entrepreneurs have proven their ability to stay relevant and become a major contributor to “the prospering ecosystem” of today’s world, Tamer Al Salah, Beyond Capital managing director, said in a statement made available to The Jordan Times.

“This book aims to be a step in the right direction, it is an inspiring collection of great achievements that are mainly driven by the ‘force of good’, a sustainable and impactful present and future,” Salah said.