From one dish to dozens
Helping Jordanian businesses scale up
In the heart of Mafraq, Jordan, a spirited home chef named Aysha Al-Khatib has built a reputation for her mastery of making Arabic traditional dishes, bringing the rich flavors of her heritage to every meal she prepares. However, her delicious food could only reach the doorsteps of those in her close-knit neighborhood.
In Mafraq, hundreds of home-based businesses face various barriers that stall growth. In Aysha’s case, she lacked access to wider markets, as well as reliable logistics services within the city to deliver orders to clients beyond the 5-mile radius of her neighborhood.
Alongside these barriers, Aysha lacked the working capital to cover the upfront cost of fresh ingredients and spices needed to take on more than one order a day.
“For many years, social media was my only window to the world, and most of my clients were limited to my neighbors,” says Aysha.
Businesses like Aysha’s cannot scale up without access to input, markets, logistics services, and proper visibility through digital apps. Addressing these constraints can generate immediate economic returns for such businesses, while contributing to the broader resilience of local communities and the economy at large.
Towards that end, the Informal Livelihoods Advancement Activity (Iqlaa) - funded by the U.S. Government - partnered with a reliable logistics services provider (Zajil). This collaboration aimed to help micro and small businesses stabilize, grow, and overcome these barriers, aligning with Iqlaa’s long term strategic objectives.
Sourcing ingredients and access to reliable delivery services used to be two of the hardest parts of running my business. With the logistical support, I have reached broader markets, allowing me to get what I need faster, serve wider audiences, and grow beyond my local market limitations
Aysha Al-Khatib, Entrepreneur
Through this partnership, Zajil’s services helped address market constraints in the city by making it easier for businesses to reach more customers, while also addressing the specific challenges faced by entrepreneurs like Aysha. As a logistics services provider offering same-day delivery, Zajil enables entrepreneurs to expand their reach to wider markets and grow their businesses. Beyond that, it also makes it easier for customers in its network to discover and place orders.
More so, and through this collaboration, a special “Buy Now, Pay Later” feature was developed in Zajil’s digital app, which allows businesses to order their supplies upfront and pay after they’ve made their sales. Such a service opens new doors for home-based and micro businesses to generate more business.
“Zajil’s logistical support made my life so much easier. Whenever I run out of supplies, I can order what I need and have it delivered to my doorstep in 30 minutes," says Aysha. She added, “Zajil also handles the delivery of my end-products to my customers, and we sort out the payment afterward.”
With the provision of a more supportive environment in Mafraq, the impact was immediate and exponential. Aysha’s orders rose to dozens. She hired extra hands in her kitchen, creating new job opportunities for local women, generating income for their families, and boosting demand for local suppliers, which resulted in strengthening the local market system in the city.
“My kitchen has become a shared space where my family, women from my community, and I work together, sharing the workload and income,” says Aysha.
Building on its success in Mafraq and in partnership with Iqlaa, Zajil extended its services to Al-Ramtha and Russeifa, reaching 700 micro and small businesses, enabling them to access wider market opportunities. Zajil also introduced a WhatsApp AI chatbot feature under its services, making online ordering accessible to non-tech-savvy users over their smart phones. Such services reflect alignment with community needs and contribute to the wider digital transformation and economic modernization.
“I never aspired to have a big, flashy restaurant. I just wanted a cloud kitchen with a golden reputation, where people know my name for quality because real success comes from sustainability; building something that serves the community on the long run,” concluded Aysha.
Looking ahead, Iqlaa aims this year to support more micro and small businesses by deepening market connections and creating stronger pathways for growth. The program aims to support over 1,200 businesses in reaching wider markets, more than 500 in accessing essential inputs, and around 4,400 in using digital payment. By 2027, these efforts intend to open up new growth opportunities, increase income for participating small-business owners, and strengthen the resilience and sustainability of their local communities.