SUDIA will be providing the UNDP-Sudan with professional services to conduct “Business Idea Competitions” in North Kordofan, South Kordofan and Blue Nile States.

Wednesday May 2^nd 2012 is the official launching of the second stage of the Business Idea Competition (BIC) implemented by SUDIA with funding from the Joined Program (UNDP and eleven other UN and UN affiliated agencies). Youth (15 – 30) from all over the state are invited to take part in the BIC competing for the shared price of 106000 SDG which will boost the startup of several original, innovative and realistic business ideas. The rewards do not exceed 600 SDG each and are distributed in-kind, not cash. The launching is happening in Damazin and no less than 100 invitees are expected to attend; potential participants, young entrepreneurs, civil society and representatives from the Ministry of Culture, Media, Youth and Sport. The competition participants will hand in their application forms by 4 pm May 17^th. Following the great enthusiasm experienced in North and South Kordofan the expectations for the youth of Blue Nile are very high. The month of May will be an exciting one for SUDIA and hopefully make a big difference in the lives of the successful participants.   

In partnership with UNDP SUDIA has since December 22nd 2011 been implementing a Business Ideas Competition (BIC) in North and South Kordofan States. Project proposals were carefully evaluated based on the level of innovation and ability to create sustainable employment opportunities to boost livelihood in the two Kordofan states. The competition culminated in an award ceremony for the winners on April 17^th 2012 in El Obeid, North Kordofan, attended by civil society and government and donor representatives. SUDIA’s project manager introduced the project, emphasizing the important role of NGOs in supporting youth employment and contributing to economic development in Sudan.

The ceremony effectively set 40 winning young entrepreneurs off to an inspirational and encouraging start to their careers. These will soon receive their proposed start-up capital from the BIC grant in-kind. The day involved speeches from the Spanish Embassy representative and the UNDP country director, praising the initiative and the enormously high interest generated by SUDIA. The project selection panel had screened a full 2375 applications received from youth in North and South Kordofan, mostly female candidates. 930 other projects were judged promising enough to be granted microfinance loans, 910 from the Central Bank of Sudan and 20 from the DAL group. Now all that remains is the distribution of in-kind support to the winners. Following this great success, another competition under the same project will start in Damazin in early May targeting the youth of Blue Nile.          

The Business Idea Competition (BIC) has been successfully launched. The SUDIA team met with the partners in El Obeid, North Kordofan, from the 10^th to the 13^th of December 2011. The project was well received and appreciated by all stakeholders.

In brief, the BIC is a UNDP-funded project where youth compete for assistance in setting up their own business. The twenty most innovative, yet realistic, ideas are granted the amount of money their proposed businesses will cost to establish.

The launching, which took place on December 22^nd, was attended by SUDIA and the UNDP, along with representatives from the Youth Higher Council, State Radio and TV, the Humanitarian aid Commission (HAC), the Business Men Union, and the National Federation of Sudanese Youth, the Director of the Bank of Khartoum, the Director of the Arab Seed Company, several graduates and young entrepreneurs, and youth- and civil society organisations.

The day of the launching was opened by an initiation ceremony, where various speakers shared their excitement about the start-up of the competition this day marked. Second was an orientation session addressing the participants, where the procedures for participating in the competition were explained in detail. The youth were then allowed to ask questions and their families were encouraged to be helpful and supportive in the 4 weeks long process of developing a feasible business idea.

An inception meeting was held with UNDP programme officers to discuss the start-up of the Business Ideas Competition (BIC) at SUDIA offices on October 11th. The meeting discussed the situation in the target areas and the overall implementation of the Competition. Due to the on-going conflict in S. Kordofan and Blue Nile State, implementation of the BIC at this early stage might only be possible in North Kordofan. SUDIA and UNDP will be monitoring the security situation closely and if possible implementing the BIC in all three targeted states. Meanwhile SUDIA will be developing a document detailing the guidelines for holding the BIC. UNDP and SUDIA will also be exploring the possibility of leveraging additional support for the BIC from other actors from the Private Sector so as to avail a wider pool of funds for the winning ideas and to maximize the number of youth who will gain access to self-employment through the business start-up awards.