- Published by
- Mercy Corps
The Informal Livelihoods Advancement Activity (Iqlaa) used a market systems development approach to address fragmented procurement, irregular deliveries and weak bargaining power affecting roughly 21,000 mini-marts across Jordan's retail sector.
Rather than funding a platform directly, Iqlaa co-invested with an established private digital B2B marketplace operator to extend its mobile-based ordering, delivery and inventory system beyond Amman into underserved governorates.
It sets out the rationale for partnering with an existing commercial actor rather than supporting retailers individually, details the cost-share structure and each party's contributions and traces implementation challenges such as low digital familiarity and entrenched supplier relationships.
Results include expansion to over 1,200 mini-marts, growth in warehouse capacity, supplier base and staffing, and continued independent investment by the company after the partnership period, illustrating how catalytic donor support can be structured to leave a commercially self-sustaining model in place.