Building trust in digital tools for micro enterprises
Many micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Jordan still depend on time-consuming conventional routines that hinder their business growth, such as chasing suppliers by phone, waiting days for stock to arrive, or handling payments in cash.
They perceive switching to digital tools as a risk, especially when their income and livelihoods depend on it. This is where the hesitation to trust and use technology often begins.
For the Informal Livelihoods Advancement Activity (Iqlaa), funded by the United States Government and implemented by Mercy Corps, one of the main objectives is to help MSEs adopt better ways of doing business, especially in underserviced areas.
Towards that end, Iqlaa collaborated with existing market actors, including Yaseer, Zajil, and Dinarak, to enrich the ecosystem for MSEs with tools and technologies that are easy to adopt. This will help them better manage their business, build effective online presence, and use payment solutions for more efficient transactions.
Ayad Abdul Fattah runs a mini-mart in a lower-income neighborhood in Russeifa. Like many shop owners of his generation, Ayad trusted the traditional ways of placing orders to restock his shop.
However, Yaseer offered a different approach to doing business, providing a convenient way of managing orders and restocking. For Ayad, it was a real eye-opener.
Before long, Ayad found himself relying on the platform to keep his shelves stocked. The real shift was not about placing orders through Yaseer’s digital app but learning to trust a new system that made his work easier, giving him better control over his inventory.
“With Yaseer, I now enjoy a simpler and more reliable way to place orders digitally and receive products in no time. This truly gave me peace of mind,” says Ayad.
Tamam Al Khatib owns a home-based desserts-making business. Like many MSEs who had never used digital payment tools before, Tamam was hesitant to make the jump. To her, e-wallets felt unfamiliar, or as she describes them, “unsafe.”
Operating in Irbid, Tamam’s keto-friendly menu attracted interest from out-of-city customers, but cash-on-delivery made these transactions tricky to manage. Without a way to secure payments upfront, she was forced to turn away such orders.
Through Dinarak, a digital financial service provider for MSEs, Tamam shifted from cash payments to an e-wallet system.
“The world suddenly felt much smaller,” Tamam says. “One day I’m preparing a local order, and the next, I’m receiving orders from countries as far away as Germany and the United States. I never imagined my business could reach a global scale!”
Over time, what once felt risky became part of Tamam’s business routine. Secure online payment gave her the confidence to accept orders easily, reduce the risk of no-payment, and serve customers beyond her local market.
In Mafraq, Montaser Ghanem built his home-based kitchen through loyal customers, personal relationships, and word-of-mouth. While the community loved his food, expanding his reach to a wider clientele felt like an uphill battle.
"I knew digital tools could help me grow my business, but I worried they would be too complicated to manage and would become a burden," Montaser says.
In collaboration with Iqlaa, Zajil enhanced its digital service offering by developing a WhatsApp chatbot to make local businesses easier to discover. The chatbot acts as a digital platform that connects customers with businesses based on their preferences.
Customers planning a gathering can message the chatbot with their guest count, budget, and preferred cuisine, and the system connects them with kitchens that fit the bill.
"The chatbot guides customers to my menu and introduces them to small businesses similar to mine, making my kitchen a whole lot accessible and discoverable,” Montaser says.
Montaser assumed using digital tool meant mastering a complex new system. Instead, this solution by Zajil was a game changer as a part of it is built on WhatsApp; a tool people already use every day.
“Before Zajil, I cooked for fun and took in occasional orders. Using the digital platform made me turn my passion into a profession. Now my livelihood depends on it,” says Montaser.
By facilitating access to easy-to-use digital tools for MSEs, Iqlaa is doing more than just introducing new technology; it is helping MSEs step confidently into the modern economy, proving that digital literacy enhances a business without overshadowing the entrepreneurial passion behind it.
Through collaborations with Yaseer, Zajil, Dinarak, and other market actors, Iqlaa contributes to a more inclusive digital ecosystem where MSEs can work smarter and unlock new markets.
For businesses like Ayda’s, Tamam, and Montaser, technology is no longer a barrier to overcome, but a bridge to scalability.
Through Iqlaa-supported partnerships, more than 4,390 businesses became digitally connected and equipped to grow, ensuring they can confidently thrive in an increasingly growing digital economy.