Full Breakdown
Displaced Sudanese Youth Turn to Entrepreneurship Amid War-Driven Job Collapse
By Drooid · · How we work
Displaced Youth Turn to Entrepreneurship
The civil war that erupted in Sudan in April 2023 has forced millions to flee their homes and left formal employment virtually unavailable. Young Sudanese such as Yousra Hussein, a 2022 graduate in medical laboratory sciences, and Mahira, a visual artist from Khartoum, have responded by launching small-scale businesses—nail services, home-decor painting, and art workshops—to generate income for their families. Their efforts illustrate a broader shift toward informal work and self-employment as a survival strategy.
Economic Collapse and Labor-Market Shrinkage
A 2024 joint report by the United Nations Development Fund and the International Food Policy Research Institute found that 31 percent of 3,000 surveyed urban households had been displaced, while the share reporting no employment or income rose from 1.6 percent pre-war to about 18 percent. Full-time employment fell by half. The World Bank estimates that extreme-poverty prevalence increased from 33 percent in 2022 to 59 percent in 2025, despite modest overall economic growth. These trends have eroded traditional job prospects, pushing many youths toward entrepreneurship despite limited skills and capital.
Data on Displacement and Poverty
- Displaced urban households: 31 percent of 3,000 surveyed (UNDP/IFPRI).
- Households with no income or employment: up to 18 percent (same survey).
- Full-time jobs: reduced by 50 percent (same survey).
- Extreme poverty: 33 percent in 2022 -> 59 percent in 2025 (World Bank).
Official Initiatives and Responses
The International Labour Organization reported in May that its i-UPSHIFT programme reached 500 young people in Kassala, delivering entrepreneurship training, mentorship, and business incubation; 38 youth-led teams (160 participants, including 66 internally displaced persons) subsequently pitched business ideas. Sudan’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, represented by Minister Ahmed Adam Ahmed, said two youth conferences in Atbara and Kassala were held to gather young people’s aspirations and to promote practical skills. The minister outlined a proposed industrial city in River Nile State to support youth-led enterprises and highlighted projects focused on artificial-intelligence applications and agricultural-waste innovation. “Projects were also directed towards implementation in states considered safe, with some already under way,” — Ahmed Adam Ahmed, minister
Voices from the Ground
- “Before the war, I was ambitious and had many dreams.” — Yousra Hussein, former medical-lab graduate and founder of the Golden Women initiative. “Before the war, I was ambitious and had many dreams,” — Yousra
- Mahira, a 30-year-old visual artist, described her shift from making soap and henna to painting murals and conducting concrete-art workshops, noting that she now earns roughly 1 million Sudanese pounds (about $130) per month to support her family.
These personal accounts, combined with limited but targeted training programmes, underscore how war-induced displacement has reshaped Sudan’s labour landscape, compelling a generation of young people to create livelihoods through entrepreneurship despite persistent obstacles such as financing, complex registration, and high taxes.
