In April 2025, Venture 2 Impact (V2I) partnered with Ruwwad and the YWCA in Amman, Jordan, to deliver a two-week in-person volunteer program focused on economic justice, youth empowerment, and digital inclusion. Through targeted workshops, mentorship, and a train-the-trainer model, the initiative supported adolescents, women, micro-entrepreneurs, and staff in building critical skills for the future of work.
Key outcomes included:
YWCA
- 84% increase in confidence in budgeting and financial management
- 52% increase in confidence to start or grow a small business
- 61% increase in confidence in marketing and social media promotion
- 48% increase in understanding of how to use AI tools in work or business
- 55% increase in clarity of career or business goals and steps to achieve them
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RUWWAD
- 65% increase in staff confidence in teaching coding and robotics
- 14% increase in staff confidence in leading business & entrepreneurship workshops
Beyond skill-building, the program strengthened staff capacity through a replicable train-the-trainer model, expanded access to digital tools, and fostered inclusive opportunities for long-term economic mobility.
THE CHALLENGE
Jordan faces a unique intersection of socio-economic barriers: high youth and female unemployment, limited access to vocational training, and the ongoing strain of hosting large refugee populations. Communities in urban areas like East Amman often lack the tools and resources needed to support economic mobility, especially among women, youth, and refugees.
Organizations like Ruwwad and the YWCA provide essential services, yet struggle with limited capacity to meet rising demand. They face difficulties in offering advanced training in Marketing, IT, Artificial Intelligence, and Entrepreneurship—skills increasingly vital in today’s economy. Refugees and women, in particular, face additional legal, cultural, and structural obstacles that prevent full economic participation.
Both Ruwwad and the YWCA sought to enhance their offerings through skill development, mentoring, and technology-focused learning to better align with evolving market needs and create more sustainable opportunities for those they serve.
For this reason, we asked:
How might we leverage human-centered design principles and volunteer expertise to support RUWWAD and the YWCA in advancing their mission of addressing economic justice, the refugee crisis, resource limitations, and skills gaps by offering educational workshops, training sessions, and personalized mentorship in Marketing & Product Design, Business & Entrepreneurship Development, and IT & Digital Skills?
PARTNERSHIP ORIGIN: From Shared Values to Shared Impact
In early 2024, Venture 2 Impact (V2I) partnered with Ruwwad Jordan to deliver an in-person volunteer initiative in East Amman/Jabal Al Natheef. Together, they supported marginalized youth and grassroots entrepreneurs through workshops, panel discussions, and personalized mentorship, with a strong focus on innovation, community-led impact, and human-centered design.
After the program’s success—marked by strengthened programming at Ruwwad’s Makerspace and Economic Justice Unit (EJU)—the partnership expanded in 2025 to include the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Amman. This three-way alliance broadened the initiative’s reach, deepening support for adolescents, women, and micro-entrepreneurs facing economic and social challenges in Jordan. The collaboration focused on critical themes such as economic justice, youth empowerment, digital skills, entrepreneurship, and refugee inclusion.
THE PROJECT
To address these challenges, V2I launched a two-week in-person volunteer program in April 2025 in partnership with Ruwwad and the YWCA. The program brought together professional volunteer consultants who co-designed and facilitated targeted workshops, mentorship sessions, and training for adolescents, entrepreneurs, and organizational staff.
At Ruwwad’s Makerspace, youth engaged in hands-on business simulations, learned business planning basics, explored AI tools, and practiced turning creative ideas into real ventures. Staff received training in digital product development, coaching strategies, robotics, and practical tools like WordPress, Figma, and ChatGPT to enhance their capacity and confidence.
Meanwhile, at the YWCA, the focus was on upskilling women and youth in areas like marketing with Canva, budgeting, AI for small businesses, social media, and Google Workspace. A “train-the-trainer” model ensured that staff could replicate and expand sessions beyond the program’s timeline.
Across both organizations, the program also delivered 1-on-1 mentoring for entrepreneurs and youth, offering tailored guidance based on participant-identified needs and goals.
The Impact
The program strengthened the ability of Ruwwad and the YWCA to deliver high-quality, relevant training that reflects market realities and community priorities. Staff at both organizations gained new skills, tools, and methods that they can now integrate into ongoing programming—ensuring continuity and sustainability.
For youth and entrepreneurs, the experience offered practical exposure to business strategy, digital platforms, and creative thinking. Participants reported increased confidence, clearer goals, and concrete steps for launching or improving business ideas.
The 1-on-1 mentorship sessions helped bridge the gap between theory and practice, providing personalized advice on real challenges such as business growth, marketing, and career development. For many, these connections were their first opportunity to engage directly with professionals in these fields.
The partnership also demonstrated the power of cross-sector collaboration in tackling complex issues like economic justice and skills gaps through scalable, community-led solutions.
OUTCOMES
We implemented a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework to measure the program’s outcomes across key learning and confidence metrics.
RUWWAD
MakerSpace – Adolescents
Objective N°1. Support adolescents in enhancing Marketing & Product Design skills (i.e., Innovative Thinking & Business Execution).
Objective N°2. Support adolescents in enhancing Business & Entrepreneurial skills (i.e., Turning Ideas into Businesses and Basic Business Modelling & Planning)
Objective N°3. Support adolescents in enhancing IT & Digital Tools (i.e., Using AI for Business & Productivity).
MakerSpace – Staff
Objective N°4. Support staff in enhancing Marketing & Product Design skills (i.e., Design Thinking & Digital Prototyping).
- Staff reported a 2% increase in their confidence in using design thinking and prototyping to develop new projects after the program.
Objective N°5. Support staff in enhancing staff’s confidence in leading Business & Entrepreneurship sessions (i.e., Mentorship & Coaching Upskilling).
- Staff reported a 9% increase in their confidence in mentoring youth to develop their business ideas after the program.
- Staff reported a 14% increase in their confidence in leading workshops on business and entrepreneurship after the program.
Objective N°6. Support staff in enhancing IT & Digital Tools skills (i.e., Coding & Robotics) and confidence in leading related sessions.
- Staff reported a 65% increase in their confidence in teaching technical topics like coding or robotics after the program.
- Staff reported a 14% increase in their confidence in using AI and digital tools to improve educational programs after the program.
Economic Justice Unit
Objective N°7. Support micro-entrepreneurs in enhancing capacity and entrepreneurial skills to improve their businesses through 1-on-1 sessions with volunteer consultants.
YWCA
Program Participants
Objective N°8. Support participants in enhancing Marketing & Product Design skills (i.e., Innovative Thinking & Business Execution, Using Basic Digital Tools for Marketing, Leveraging AI, and Practical Social Media Usage).
- Participants reported a 23% increase in their confidence in coming up with creative ideas for projects or businesses after the program.
- Participants reported a 61% increase in their confidence in marketing skills and using social media for promotion after the program.
- Participants reported a 48% increase in their confidence in understanding how AI tools can be used in my work or business after the program.
Objective N°9. Support participants in enhancing Business & Entrepreneurial skills (i.e., Coaching & Career Development and Basic Financial Statements Analysis & Budgeting).
- Participants reported a 55% increase in their confidence in career development skills by having clearer goals for their career or business as well as the steps to achieve them, after the program.
- Participants reported an 84% increase in their confidence in financial management and budgeting.
- Participants reported a 52% increase in their confidence in business & entrepreneurial skills since they feel more confident to start or grow a small business after the program.
Objective N°10. Support participants in enhancing IT & Digital Tools skills (i.e., Introduction to Google Workspace).
- Participants reported a 45% increase in their confidence in using tools like Google Docs, Sheets, or other basic computer applications, after the program.
Additional Highlights
Training Satisfaction and Impact
- 43% of Ruwwad Staff found the training highly relevant to their professional needs.
- 77% of YWCA participants found the training highly relevant to their professional needs.
- 79% of the volunteers strongly agreed that they found fulfilling to use their expertise in a new or different context.
- 86% of the volunteers were very satisfied with their overall experience.
- 71% of the volunteers would likely recommend the skills-based Venture 2 Impact program to others.
- 86% of the volunteers accomplished their goals in participating in this volunteer project.
- 79% of the volunteers were extremely satisfied with the assistance by V2I staff and the effectiveness of orientation.
- 71% of the volunteers agreed that participating in this activity will have direct value to their career development goals.
- 64% of the volunteers agreed that they gained a deeper understanding about the challenges faced by nonprofits.
Next STEPS
Building on the success of the 2025 program, the partner organizations plan to deepen their collaboration by:
- Embedding volunteer-developed curricula into regular programming at Ruwwad’s Makerspace and the YWCA.
- Training additional staff to scale delivery of the sessions and reach more participants throughout the year.
- Continuing to connect youth and entrepreneurs with mentorship opportunities—locally and globally.
- Expanding technical training in emerging areas like AI, robotics, and digital marketing.
- Strengthening monitoring and evaluation to measure long-term impact and refine programming.
The foundation has been laid, and the next phase will focus on sustaining and scaling impact across East Amman and beyond.
Volunteers & Participants Testimonials
From Volunteers
“The experience was well organized, accommodating through communication and we provided meaningful impact. The experience with Venture 2 Impact wasn't just your clean up a park and pull weeds event, it was an opportunity to connect and support marginalized communities through collaboration with experts from across the globe. Venture 2 Impact provided me with the opportunity to teach and also learn from another culture.””
“I could see and feel the change happening in front of me. It was amazing to see faces light up when learning something new and be excited about tools and technologies they could apply into their lives right away.”
“It was helpful to understand the challenges these youth face and overcome to be successful in a changing workplace. It also was great to see the two different funding and program models these non-profits leveraged and how they impact their outcomes and also drive their performance decisions”
“My goal was to understand the communities to my best ability and to help them define their visions and gain confidence in their approaches. The V2I staff was greatly helpful in this effort. The challenges that arose were surmountable with their assistance.”
“I really enjoyed the program and would absolutely love to participate again in the future. This has been a good opportunity to slow down from the general rapid fire chaos that my day-to day job can be, and focus on a skill I spent a lot of time learning but rarely have the opportunity to use.”
“You are such rockstars, you make the program effortless, all the work and dedication and months of planning are worth it, for you , for us, for the community, for the community's beloved ones, it's a gift that keeps on giving..”
From Participants
“The program is very nice, and the volunteers are wonderful and very kind.”
“I hope to see you again to benefit from your experiences.”
“The most significant skill I gained from this program was how to develop a plan to integrate a new technology into the workplace.”
“I plan to implement the new skills and knowledge by integrating them into both the technical infrastructure and the learning environment at the Makerspace. For example, I will apply advanced cybersecurity practices to strengthen our network security, ensuring safe access for all users. Additionally, I will use my knowledge to design hands-on workshops and training sessions for youth and staff, making sure that the skills are shared and practically applied”
