Khartoum – Despite the obstacles presented for agricultural investment in Sudan, mainly in the areas of credit, exchange and transfer of profits abroad, the organizers of the Conference on Food Security in the Arab World, which took place on Tuesday (21) in Khartoum, evaluated the event as positive and believe that the number of Arab businessmen investing in the area in the country should grow.
The president of the Federation of Sudanese Businessmen and Employers, Saud Elbreir, said that the conference figures show that the theme generates interest. According to him, 165 businessmen from other Arab countries, and at least 15 nations outside the Middle East and North Africa participated, as did over 500 Sudanese. Among the foreign participants was the CEO at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Michel Alaby.
“Businessmen spoke much about the food sector, and, for this reason, it was a great success,” said Elbreir to ANBA. “Many Arab companies are starting their business in Sudan,” he added. Providing incentives in agriculture and in livestock was the main objective of the conference.
The evaluation is that despite the concern with food safety – as a significant part of the region is poor in fertile lands and hydric resources, depending on imports – Arab companies invest little in the sector.
Adnan Kassar, the president of the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Arab Countries, the organizer of the event, said that the results for the event “promise much”. To him, perspectives for growth of Arabs imports of Sudanese produce “is encouraging”. “We support this effort to promote Arab investment here,” he said.
Different from other nations in the region, Sudan has available fertile land and abundant water, supplied by the Nile, and its two tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, which come together at the country capital. One of the main hindrances to investment, however, is the hardship in obtaining funds from the international financial system to cover project costs. That takes place as the country is suffering international economic sanctions, mainly from the United States.
Apart from that, with the independence of South Sudan, in 2011, the country lost a significant part of its oil revenues and there is a significant lack of foreign currency in the market. On Monday, some businessmen complained about the hardships for the purchase of dollars at the official exchange rate, the depreciation of the local pound and hardships imposed by the government for the transfer of profits abroad.
“It is a political problem,” said Elbreir. “But I believe that this question will flow now, it will improve,” he said. The Sudanese bet on greater support of Arab financial and fostering institutions after the king of Saudi Arabia, Abullah Bin Abdulaziz, made an appeal for thee organisations to expand their capital by at least 50% and increase investment in projects in the region. They are organisations and companies that have local governments as shareholders and the opinion of the Saudis in this matter is strong, as the country is the main economy in the region.
Incubator
Another initiative in progress is the support of entrepreneurs through a programme developed by the Arab Regional Centre for Entrepreneurship & Investment Training (Arceit), an organisation maintained by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) and by the government of Bahrain. In Sudan, the project is named “Agroentrepreneurs” and the objective is to train people interested in starting a business in the area of agriculture, livestock and food processing.
On Tuesday, the establishment of the first group in Sudan, with 34 participants, was forecasted. According to the coordinator of the initiative, Afif Barhoumi, the process includes five steps: the selection of entrepreneurs and their projects; preparation for the release of the business, with counselling for management, where to seek technology and the search for markets; contact with financial institutions prepared to finance – in this case the partner is the Bank of Khartoum; incubation; and the development of the enterprise itself.
“In Sudan, agriculture has great weight,” said Barhoumi, on explaining why the area was chosen as the focus in the country. In other nations, other sectors were selected. In Bahrain, for example, the focus is on services.
Even after the end of the five phases, according to Barhoumi, the organisation should continue providing support to participants until the business is consolidated. Apart from that, the Arceit aims to promote the entrepreneurial culture in Sudan. “We are working with trainers so that they may promote the idea,” said the coordinator.
*Translated by Mark Ament
