Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Key for Sudan’s Ability to Harness the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Key for Sudan’s Ability to Harness the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

The Economic Commission for Africa office for North Africa and the Sudanese ministry of Trade launched on 18 December in Khartoum a four day, joint workshop on Export Promotion and Access to Finance for the benefit of 50 Sudanese SME owners, mostly women.

The workshop aims to strenghten Sudanese SMEs' capacity to trade with the rest of the African continent and the world, seize new export opportunities within the framework of the AfCFTA and contribute to the transformation of the national industrial sector. Sudanese exports, which consist mostly of primary commodities such as gold, oil seeds or cattle, are currently very low, below 3% of GDP in 2021. Most exports go to China and Gulf countries, and only less than 20% to Africa, with Egypt being the main export destination on the continent. To help SMEs move upwards in the value chain, the training focuses on market access in Africa and product development strategies for SMEs as well as their access to finance.

SMEs account for 90 percent of enterprises around the world, including in Africa. They operate across the economy ranging from simple agricultural market-based vegetable production to industrial-related enterprises. In Sudan they are also the largest source of employment, providing