The Jordanian government has signed a $4.2 million grant agreement with the World Bank to finance the development and testing of artificial intelligence applications in government institutions and prepare for expanding the services of the “Sanad” platform to the business sector, as part of additional financing arrangements for the Youth, Technology and Jobs Project.
اضافة اعلان
According to World Bank documents reviewed by Al-Mamlaka, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Zeina Toukan signed the grant agreement on October 31, while the World Bank was represented by Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Dalia Khalifa.
The grant aims to finance preparatory activities for the project’s additional financing by developing practical artificial intelligence solutions in selected government sectors, conducting studies and assessments to determine the project’s components and priorities, and strengthening the capacity of relevant institutions to design and implement digital solutions.
The activities include developing and testing AI applications aimed at improving government procedures and enhancing service delivery efficiency, including solutions capable of performing multiple tasks and processes, as well as developing AI-powered tools through the “Sanad” platform.
The grant also includes preparing a plan for the gradual expansion of Sanad services to business-sector users, redesigning and simplifying targeted service procedures, and testing new digital solutions in preparation for developing the technical specifications required for their implementation.
National Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence
Under the agreement, the grant will support the use of results from AI experiments and related partnerships to guide preparations for establishing a national center of excellence in artificial intelligence. The center is expected to bring together expertise, data, research and development to accelerate innovation and strengthen technological capabilities.
The funded activities are expected to help identify scalable government applications, develop technical plans for their implementation, and build institutional capacity to use AI in public services. They will also provide the economic, financial, environmental and social studies needed to design the new project.
The grant also aims to strengthen foreign investment in Jordan’s digital economy by developing a list of international companies with potential interest in investing in the Kingdom, engaging specialized firms in priority markets, and organizing promotional tours and targeted investor meetings.
The Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship will implement the funded activities through the existing Project Implementation Unit for the Youth, Technology and Jobs Project, according to the agreement.
Youth, Technology and Jobs
The preparations for the additional financing build on the Youth, Technology and Jobs Project, which the World Bank approved in March 2020 with $200 million in financing, including a $163.1 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and a $36.9 million grant from the Global Concessional Financing Facility.
The existing project aims to improve technology-related income and employment opportunities for Jordanian youth, expand digital government services, develop skills required in the labor market, support the growth of digital companies and attract investment to the sector.
The project targets the creation of 10,000 new income opportunities, training 15,000 people in digital skills, developing digital-skills curricula for public-school students, expanding e-government services, and encouraging $20 million in private-sector investment in digital services.
According to the latest data reported by Al-Mamlaka in October 2026, total disbursements under the project reached $108.32 million, including $88.37 million from the World Bank loan and $19.95 million from the project’s grant.
Project results through the end of June 2026 showed that the number of beneficiaries with documented new income opportunities had reached 5,935, compared with a target of 10,000, while the number of people trained in digital skills reached 12,429, equivalent to 83% of the target.
In education, 760,554 school students benefited from digital-skills curricula, exceeding the target of 300,000 students. Meanwhile, 178 government services had been digitized, compared with a target of 100 services.
The project also recorded around 52.9 million transactions through digital government services. The share of government payment services enabled digitally rose to more than 80%, while private-sector investment mobilized by the project in digital services reached approximately $16.6 million out of the targeted $20 million.
Source: Al-Mamlaka
