Assessing the Needs of Refugees for Financial and Non-Financial Services - Jordan
With a total of more than 750,000 registered refugees (50% female), Jordan (population around 10 million) is one of the world’s largest hosting countries. Jordan’s small economy is generally struggling with absorbing the effects of the Syria crisis, suffering from rising unemployment and high government debt.
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have developed a joint program to facilitate access to credit for the refugee population and their host communities in Jordan and Uganda. The two agencies selected the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation (GCAF) as a partner for the initiative and, as a first step, commissioned a country assessment in Jordan and Uganda in order to assess refugees’ demand for and access to financial and non-financial services as well as the challenges and opportunities they face. This report presents the findings from the demand assessment in Jordan.
The assessment is primarily based on original data collection through direct consultations with refugees as well as financial service providers (FSPs) and other relevant stakeholders. In particular, it involved interviews and focus group discussions with a total of 117 refugees (48% women and including 108 Syrians, 4 Iraqis, 3 Yemeni, and 2 Sudanese) in the capital Amman (49%) and the Zaatari "camp" or settlement in the Mafraq governorate (51%) as well as interviews with 13 stakeholder entities.
