Young Sudanese women turn to entrepreneurship as war erases jobs

October 1, 2026 at 12:43 AM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Yousra Hussein, a Sudanese medical laboratory graduate, fled Nyala after war broke out in April 2023 and rebuilt her women's empowerment initiative in Kassala. Her Golden Women project now trains young women in marketing and entrepreneurship as Sudan's economy collapses. A 2024 UNDP-IFPRI survey found 18 percent of urban households reported no employment or income, up from 1.6 percent before the war.

Key Facts

Yousra Hussein graduated from Nahda College in 2022 with a degree in medical laboratory sciences and launched the Golden Women initiative in Nyala the same year.
The Golden Women initiative organized psychosocial support sessions and training workshops in marketing and entrepreneurship that helped more than 70 women.
A 2024 joint report by the United Nations Development Fund and the International Food Policy Research Institute found that 31 percent of 3,000 urban households surveyed had been displaced.
The share of urban households reporting no employment or income rose from 1.6 percent before the war to about 18 percent by the time of the survey.
Full-time employment fell by half among surveyed urban households in Sudan.

Displacement and Resilience

Yousra Hussein fled Nyala with her family in June 2023, arriving in Sennar, a city she had never visited. In Sennar, she began offering nail services from home, charging the equivalent of about $10 to $15 per service. Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces spread to Sennar in mid-2024, forcing Yousra and her family to flee again to Kassala in eastern Sudan. In Kassala, Yousra resurrected her Golden Women initiative to help women earn money to support their families.

Barriers to Entrepreneurship

Yousra said young Sudanese entrepreneurs have limited access to skills training and institutional support. She pointed to bank requirements for guarantees that many cannot provide as a major obstacle. Complex registration procedures and taxes also hinder establishing and sustaining a business, according to Yousra.

War-Driven Jobs Crisis

A 2024 joint report by the United Nations Development Fund and the International Food Policy Research Institute surveyed 3,000 urban households in Sudan. The report found that 31 percent of surveyed households had been displaced. The share reporting no employment or income rose from 1.6 percent before the war to about 18 percent by the time of the survey. Full-time employment also fell by half among surveyed households.