Amman, July 28 (Petra) – 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.

In an interview with the Jordan News Agency (Petra), Shalabi said 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 serve as a financing arm to strengthen cooperatives and support development and productive projects across the Kingdom.

He said the fund is also designed to attract financial support from local and international donors through strategic partnerships, in line with the Economic Modernization Vision, royal directives and the public sector modernization roadmap.

Shalabi said financing programs will be based on local development priorities and the needs of the cooperative sector. Grants and loans will be awarded according to transparent criteria, including project feasibility, management and repayment capacity, and expected development impact. Projects receiving funding will remain subject to oversight under the Cooperatives Law No. 13 of 2025.

He added that the corporation will ensure equitable distribution of funding among governorates based on development needs, the number of cooperatives and available investment opportunities, while providing technical assistance and follow-up to enhance the sustainability of funded projects.

Shalabi said 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.

He also 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 provide 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.

Shalabi said the corporation has partnered with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to deliver internationally accredited training programs tailored to the Jordanian context, including "Think and Start Cooperatively," "Think.COOP and Start.COOP," and the Agricultural Cooperative Management program.

He noted that 24 trainers from the corporation and partner institutions completed training this month 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 strengthen the capacities of cooperatives, their members and JCC staff through ILO-accredited training programs, while supporting the preparation of feasibility studies and sector statistics.

//Petra// AJ