For the past three years the British Embassy in Khartoum has supported Sudan's future entrepreneurs through a popular television programme called Mashrouy. It aims to find Sudan's next biggest potential entrepreneurs and to empower youth, offering them a platform to showcase their business ideas, boost innovation and creativity. Helping them to contribute to socioeconomic development and progress potential and competent future business leaders.
Hosted on Sudan’s most watched television channel BNTV, Mashrouy, which means 'My Project’ in Arabic, gives people the chance to showcase their projects in front of a television audience and panel of judges.
Implemented by the British Council in partnership with the Sudanese Young Businessmen Association, Mashrouy is a competition which shows the huge value entrepreneurs can bring to Sudan.
Twelve contestants compete with each other to present their business ideas through a series of challenges set by judges. Following a public vote three winners are then chosen and receive money to start up their business as well as a trip to meet fellow UK young entrepreneurs.
As well as those in the public eye a further training element to the programme has seen more than 1500 young people in Sudan receive training in business start-up.
Maisson Matar
Now Sudan's UN Women’s Entrepreneurship Ambassador, Ms Matar owns an environmentally-friendly company called Fandora which recycles recycled paper, plastic and metals into beautiful jewellery, handicrafts, accessories and furniture. Fandora – which means 'art’ and ‘role’ in Arabic - also focuses on environmental education by providing community training to prisoners, male and female, Non-Governmental Organisations and cultural centres:
"I started thinking about finding solutions for our community problems. Solutions that could help in fighting poverty and creating a change. We explored the idea of recycling handicrafts, aiming to make use of the solid waste (paper, glass, plastic and metal) as no-cost raw materials.
“Africa has the biggest inspiration on my business. Although, Sudan has a mixed Arab-African culture, but our heritage is very rich because of this mixture.
“I am satisfied with the fact that Fandora works for the community. We strategise for putting women issues at the forefront. Dedicated to work with vulnerable women groups, we set about to position Fandora as a poverty fighting enterprise. Fandora is trying to empower poor and uneducated women and give them the tools needed to change their fortune."
Ashraf Osman
One of the winners of Mashrouy 2, Dr Ashraf Osman, a microbiologist from Khartoum, developed a way of producing yeast from sugar cane molasses that could reduce the need for yeast import in Sudan, that would reduce the price of bread by 8%.
The show has brought him to the attention of private sector investors and he is currently developing his model with one of Sudan's largest sugar production companies. His project was seen as having huge potential for food security and national economy.
Shortly after he was announced as the winner, and presented with his SDG 200,000 (£22,500) prize, he said: "I felt nervous but so excited to get involved. I had seen episodes of Mashrouy last year and thought 'I could do this."
The fourth series of Mashrouy is due to be televised shortly – the call for applicants has now closed. Mashrouy, which has proven to be extremely popular in Sudan, is just one of the many examples of the UK's work to empower entrepreneurs across Africa.
